Solstice of the Moon
by Final Spirit
Summary: Sam and Dean get a call from one of their father's old acquaintances, which leads them to small country town infested with werewolves. But with betrayal and deception at everyturn, will the Winchesters survive with both their lives and their humanity?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note  
****Again, my unending imagination has refused to leave me alone. If that wasn't enough, my muse got so annoyed of me ignoring her she started to throw rocks at my head _-ducks from a flying rock-_ and as you can tell that hurts quite a lot _-rubs bruises on head-._ So due to the threat of officially becoming a retard due to too many hits on the head, I have decided to create a Supernatural story! _-does a little happy dance-_ As with my obsession, this will be a werewolf fic. So, on with the story! Oh, PS, this is just a prologue, so sadly Sam and Dean are not directly in it. They will be making their debut in the next chapter. There is mention of the Winchesters in this prologue though. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer  
****I will, as always, say this once and only once: I DO NOT OWN SUPERNATURAL SO DO NOT SUE ME! Although, if Santa would be really nice, he could stuff Dean and Sam into a box under my tree! Now that would be a Christmas to celebrate. _-grin-

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**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Prologue**

Everything led up to this. The final confrontation. This would be the deciding factor; who would live…and who would die.

They were all around us, closing in. I could feel their vile breath upon my face, suffocating me, but I didn't flinch. I couldn't afford the mistake. One slip up, and it would be the end for all of us. We were fighting a war, and in war, a mistake meant people were to die. I won't let anybody die. My brothers at my side, my two most loyal friends behind me; I wouldn't let any of them down. They were in this because of me, and I wouldn't let them die because of the stupid mess I'd got myself in.

The pack in front of us parted, and the alpha male stood before us; three hundred pounds of pure, primal power. I stared into his golden eyes, refusing to show any form of submission. No way would I back down, not at this point. We'd gone too far, been through too much to be scared away. These were the creatures that killed my parents. I'd found out about them, and they killed them to shut me up. Well, it wasn't going to work.

"You won't scare me away, so cut the macho bullshit you bitch," I spat, never faltering my gaze, "You can try and intimidate me but it won't work."

The alpha male recoiled slightly, taken back by my words; good, he'd gotten my point. This wasn't the time to sugarcoat things, they needed to be said plain and simple.

He seemed to contemplate my words for a moment, before signaling the others to back off slightly. As he closed his eyes, the sound of bones crunching began. He form, shaded by darkness, seemed to shrink away. He shape changed from it's human-like lupine form, to a human shape, still shrouded by darkness. As he stepped closer to us, out of the shadow, patches of fur still covered his nude form. His eyes remained golden and bestial, his teeth still sharp and feral, his razor claws poised in the event of an attack.

"I'm listening," he barked in a deep, hoarse voice.

"I want the ones that killed my parents. You give them to me, and no one will find out about you. You refuse…" I paused for a second, extending it's emphasis, "…and we kill all of you we can and those of us that survive will tell everyone about your secret."

He glared at me trying to contain the rage arising inside him from my threat. Then, he merely smiled, his feral teeth giving him a slightly psychotic look.

"You know you won't get away from us. Our numbers are far greater than yours. What makes you think six teenagers can destroy a power such as ourselves? Our race has endured centuries of persecution from your strongest hunters, but still we've survived. We'll not be taken down by some mere pups. Besides, in the unlikely event one of you do manage to escape, who do you think will believe you?"

The severity of my threat seemed to have worn away, his confidence in his words beaming. My mind raced for an answer to his retort, but none came. What he spoke of was true, but then another thought came to my mind. We had a trump card.

"You think we would have come into this alone? Without some kind of a back up plan? Ha, you must be delusional," she chuckled, allowing what little confidence she had to shine bright, "Others, stronger and better prepared to fight you, know where we are. If we don't come back in the next hour or give them a signal of our safety, they come in guns a'blazing."

I saw his features contort, as if slightly worried. My bluff had worked, he'd believed it. He looked at me hard, as if he were making the toughest decision of his life.

"I can't give you what you want," he said sternly, "But I can't let you go knowing what you'll do. Nobody was supposed to get hurt tonight, but you leave me with no choice. Know this, this is not what I hoped for this to come to."

I looked at him puzzled as he slowly backed away. What were the meaning of his words?

He looked past me with soft eyes, eyes that showed remorse for what he was about to do. "You know what has to be done," he stated, gazing not at me but behind me.

Realization hit me but before I had the chance to turn, I felt the cold hard steel of the pistol pressed to my temple. One word had hit me then and there; betrayal.

"I'm sorry I have to do this," my friend spoke softly, her voice quivering. I noticed that all the others are were all pointing their weapons at her, their eyes blazing with the heat of deception.

I was loosing control, my grip slowly slipping away. There was no hope, so to give up the present was the only option. I could see the way the alpha noticed the change in me. He reflected what he himself witnessed; I was broken.

"Why?" was the only thing I could choke out, my eyes slowly gathering tears, "Why?"

"He threatened to kill my family if I didn't cooperate with them. I'm sorry, but I'm not as stupid as you to go and piss them off. If it saves my parents, then I'll do whatever they say," she spat.

Then, it hit me. My parents were dead, my best friend had betrayed me, and now I was to be murdered by my best friend. I'd put up with this shit long enough, and if I was going to go down, I'd at least go down fighting.

"You know what you bitch?" I questioned rhetorically, my anger rising, "You can go and fuck yourself you backstabbing son of a bitch!"

I flung myself sideways as fast I could, feeling the bullet clip my ear. I hit the ground and rolled, snatching my revolver free from its holster. I heard bullets erupt from the others as they shot one of their own, her body crumpling to the floor.

In seconds they were on us, a flurry of fangs and fur. I ignored the constant pains from my ever increasing wounds, firing at many bullets as I could. I knew I would die tonight, no matter what I did. My only goal was to kill them all, I wouldn't let myself die until then.

I was tackled from behind and sent flying, my head colliding with the floor. I felt my blood flowing freely, pooling around my head. I watched, paralyzed, as those monsters tore my brothers apart. My friend had finished his rounds and was now freely using a machete, but there were to many. Tears were streaming down my blood soaked face, my mind slowly slipping.

I had made my mistake, and I had killed them. It was my fault. I wanted nothing more than to die with my kin, a heroic death.

As they finished with the others, they began to advance on me. The alpha, still semi-human, stepped forward and keeled to my ear, "I'm sorry it had to come to this."

Using the remainder of my strength, I lifted my head to his ear as much as I could. My breath shallow and erratic, I waited till it was strong enough to speak.

"M-my bluff wa-asn't…wasn't com-com…completely f-fake…there is…o-one c-coming…" I stammered, my eyes losing focus. He tried to pull away from me, but using my only moving arm, I pulled him back.

"S-say hello…dumbfuck…" I whispered, just as someone burst into the vacant hall with a hail fire of bullets, my arm still holding the struggling alpha close, "…t-to…to J-John Winchester…"

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**A/N- Hehe, thought I'd leave you with an evil cliffy. Dean and Sam will make their debut next chappie, and the events that happened in this prologue for the most part will be explained. So now, see that little purple (lilac) button on the bottom left corner, PRESS IT! See you next time. **


	2. Scars Aren't Only Skin Deep

**Author's Note  
****I'm shocked at the number of people who went on to view this story, but disappointed in the number that actually reviewed it. I mean, out of 167 people only ONE person reviewed. Yes, I thank that one person, sayuki123, as well as supernaturalfan0718 and KatieMalfoy19, for putting me on their alert lists. But come on! Can't you read this AND review it? **

**Sorry if I stress this so much, it's just that I've never gotten too many reviews and it makes me feel bad…_-tear-_…so you get my point. Anyhow, I am happy so many of you decided at least to read this fic, so for that I must thank you. **

**And now I must say…tada! Dean and Sam make their debut!

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**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 1- Scars Aren't Only Skin Deep**

"Okay Dean, who exactly is this girl supposed to be?" questioned an impatient Sam Winchester who was quite tired of his brother Dean ignoring him and blasting the radio.

"Hey don't worry Sammy, she's cool," he answered automatically, turning up the radio even more.

Sam's head was ready to burst with annoyance. Not only was he tired of this music his brother seemed to love so much, but of the way his brother seemed to disregard him as well. He's been asking all morning about this "new mission" that his brother had gotten word of, but he'd still gotten no answer.

As far as he knew, they'd received the call earlier that morning, with a young girl asking for their father. Dean had immediately taken the call with no regard for Sam, totally ignoring the fact that he'd been the one to answer it.

Fed up to the point of no return, Sam immediately turned off the radio despite several loud protests from his brother.

"I'm sick and tired of you ignoring me," he stated firmly, "Just tell me what the heck is going on already!"

"Jeez, calm down Sammy boy," he answered sarcastically, "If you wanted to know that badly all you had to do was ask."

Squashing his flaring temper, Sam proceed to question is brother. "So who is this girl who called? What did she want?"

"From what she told me, she dealt with dad about two years ago. Get this, she had a werewolf problem," he answered, grinning slightly.

"Werewolf? As in a skinwalker?"

"Yep. She'd really gotten herself in some deep shit. Cause it wasn't _a_ skinwalker, it was an entire pack."

Sam stared at him in awe, "You mean to tell me faced an entire pack and got out alive? How old is this girl? I mean, she didn't sound any older than twenty-five on the phone."

"She isn't," Dean said, a perverted grin on his face, "She's twenty-one. Right up your corner."

"You mean to tell me a nineteen year old fought off an entire pack and somehow survived?" Sam asked, a look of disbelief on his face.

"I never said she fought off the whole pack you know."

"Well then, tell me how the hell she managed to escaped."

"That, I don't know much about. All she really told me was that Dad helped her out two years ago when she got in too deep. The thing is, now, she thinks their back," Dean said, slightly amused at the thought of saving this "mystery girl" from these werewolves.

"What makes her think that?"

"She said there's been some nasty animal killings in the area. No one can seem to figure out what's doing it, but she thinks it's them. She said it's almost exactly like it was two years ago."

"What, they just decided to come back after two years? You know that goes against a pack's normal behavior. If even one's left alive, they'll stay in the area and try to rebuild a pack almost immediately."

"I know, I thought the exact same thing. So I asked her about it. This is where it got strange though. She seemed reluctant to tell me where she's been the last twoyears. Supposedly, she's gonna explain everything once we get there."

Sam looked at his brother skeptically, unsure about the whole thing. "I don't get a good feeling from this gig," he said.

"Well, that makes both of us."

"What the hell?" Sam shouted, "Then why the hell did you tell her we'd be coming?"

"Cause," he said with a defensive look, "She sounded hot."

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Within the hour, they arrived at the motel their "mystery girl" had specified. Sam made sure to pack his gun with some silver bullets, just in case it was an ambush.

"So where the heck are we supposed to find her?" Sam questioned, still slightly annoyed at the immaturity of his brother.

"She said she'd be in room 6, so I guess that'll be where we meet her," Dean answered, already ambling off in that direction. Sam followed in hot pursuit, careful to keep a hand on his gun. He didn't trust this situation one bit, and he'd be damned if something caught him off guard.

When they finally found room 6, Dean knocked lightly on the door. Within a few seconds, footsteps could be heard from inside as they drew closer to the door. As the door swung open, both Dean and Sam's jaws dropped. Standing before them was possibly the most unexpected looking person. She was, for a lack of better words, _beautiful._

She was the complete opposite that Sam had imagined her. He'd expected a suspicious looking, battle hardened girl; but what stood before him defied all possible logic. Her eyes shined a wild golden jade, while thick chestnut hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her shape was framed lightly by a black tank corset, with a pair of ripped jeans that hugged her round hips. What Sam couldn't help staring at was her face, which radiated an awe that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of.

"You're Sam and Dean, right?" she asked, voice rich and young. Her words seemed to break the spell over Sam, and he quickly regained himself. Looking over to Dean, he quickly slapped him on the head, who staring (and drooling) not at her face, but rather her ample breasts.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "I'm Sam," he said pointing to himself, "And this is Dean," he said pointing over to a still slightly dazed Dean. "And you are…? Sorry, we never really got your name."

She seemed to ease up over this, blushing slightly. "Sorry about that. I was expecting to talk to your father…but his phone seemed to forward my call to yours." She paused slightly, still looking at the brothers. "My name's Artemis…Artemis Timber." She held out her hand, as if wanting to shake hands.

Sam raised his to meet hers, and they both shook hands lightly. That was when he noticed something suspicious. Her nails, if you could even call them nails, rather resembled claws. She, apparently trying to hide this, had painted them black, but Sam was still able to notice them. Sam quickly released her hand, hiding his newfound suspicion. Dean, on the other hand, at the prospect of even touching her, thrust his hand into hers and didn't seem to want to let go.

When she was finally able to free her hand from Dean's, she proceeded to invite them inside the room. After closing the door, she pulled her gun from the back of her pants, tossing it onto the bed. Sam noticed how cleanly the room was made up; too cleanly. It looked as if no one had been even staying here.

"Is this where you've been staying?" he asked, the suspicion apparently too evident in his voice.

"No, this is where you guys will be staying," she responded, looking into his eyes as if trying to prove she was telling the truth, "I live in a cottage down the road. I'd invite you guys to stay at my place, but it's close to where the killings have been happening. I don't want them to know you guys are here yet, so as far as they know we don't know each other yet."

Sam could see how seriously she seemed to take this subject, as if it was close to her. It seemed personal…which reminded him of some questions he'd been meaning to ask her.

"Listen, would you minding telling us everything…from the beginning? We're still a little unclear on some details. Like how met you met our father and stuff."

He immediately saw the hurt flash in her eyes, as if he'd just touched upon a difficult subject. Taking a moment, she sat herself down on the bed, regaining her composition. "I understand where you guys are coming from. You don't even know me, and all you have to go on is my word that I knew your father. If you want to know everything, then I'll tell you."

She took a deep breath, as if trying to stir up the painful memory. "As you well know, it all started two years ago. I'd just come back from two years away at college to visit my family. I'd been the first in the town to get a scholarship and leave; I went to Princeton. But, when I came back, I'd found that things had changed…for the worse.

"People had started disappearing. At first it was only one a month, but after a few months, people were disappearing almost every day. Almost seventy-five people went missing in all…only about ten of the bodies were ever found. Of course, I tried to find out what was going on, but everyone was too afraid to say anything. The only people who seemed as curious as I was, were my three older brothers and my two best friends…" at this she paused for a second, taking a hard breath. Sam could've sworn he saw her wipe an tear, but she quickly turned to look out the window.

"I'd found out where the majority of the people had disappeared from, and I decided to stake out the area. I told my parents I was going out of town for the night, because if they knew where I was going they probably would've locked me in the house.

"Anyhow, I gathered everything I needed and hiked out there before sunset. I was able to climb up a reasonably high and thick oak tree, where I pulled out a pair of night vision goggles and just…waited.

"Around midnight or so, that's when it started. I heard a couple of howls, but I just dismissed it as some wolves or something. But that's when I realized something; there are no wolves in Okalahoma. I pulled out my video camera, and started filming. Within a couple of minutes…I saw…_them_…

"They came out of no where, and almost every one was dragging a body. At first I thought I was hallucinating or something, but when I saw one of them change into a human…I finally connected the dots. When another one came around…I saw it dragging one of my cousins. I freaked, and ending up breaking the branch my leg was stepping on. They heard me, and immediately started clawing their way up the tree.

"I started climbing higher, trying to get a way, but more and more starting climbing the tree. Now, while the tree had been strong enough to hold me, it was definitely not strong enough to hold me _and_ ten werewolves. The base line cracked, and the tree started falling. Thankfully, the tree landing right in the middle of where they'd originally been centered, so in the panic that ensued I went pretty much unnoticed. While they were trying to find not only me but those that had survived the fall, I was able to get away.

"I made may way to a nearby spring, where I cleaned up my cuts so they couldn't sniff me out. I used the stream to make my way back to town, where I tried to find someone that would believe me. Then, I remembered a friend of mine I'd met at college, who'd told me a guy helped her fight off some ghost or something. I gave her a call, and she gave me his number. It was your father.

"But by the time I got home the night after my little adventure, I'd found my house abandoned. When I went into the kitchen, I found out why. My parents laid there…torn to pieces…a note scribbled on the floor in their blood…" By this time tears were already streaming down her face, her breath coming in short sobs.

Sam walked over to her and put his arms around her, trying to comfort her. She seemed to find some solace in this, her sobs easing up slightly.

"If it's too hard, you don't have to continue," Sam said, the meaning evident in his voice. Dean simply nodding his head in agreement, him speechless as well, the memories of his own parental loss evident.

"You guys…need to know this. I've kept this inside too long without dealing with it. You guys need to know what these _things_ are capable of…"

She quickly wiped the tears off her cheek and faced the two brothers. "They left a message, written in their blood. It said, _"This is the price you pay for knowing. Tell anyone, and more will die."_ They'd known it was me that had seen them the other night, and they killed my parents to shut me up.

"Thankfully, my brothers had gone out for the night, and had avoided the bloodshed. I called them and told them I'd meet them at this motel, and I'd tell them why when I got there. I called your father, and told him what happened. At first he seemed reluctant to help me, but in the end I was able to convince him. He said I seemed to remind him of you guys, and that, well, he just couldn't say no. He told me he'd be able to make it up there in less than a day, so I asked him I'd meet him at the motel.

"When I met up with my brothers, my two friends were there also. I told them what had happened, and of course my brothers wanted revenge. They'd been the only ones to believe me, and we were going to go help me take those _things_ down. My friends had considered my parents like their own, so they decided to join us. Together, we were able to triangulate that exact location of the pack's nest was. Apparently, they had moved into some of the abandoned houses on the other side of the woods.

"I called your father, but I only got his voicemail. I left him a message telling him where we were headed, and to meet us out there. We gathered all the weapons we could find, and then we head ed out.

"The place was easy to find, and we both found each other easily. We tried to bargain with them--yes I know in was a bad idea--" she said Dean's who was about to contradict her stupidity, "But that's what happened. We had the upper hand too, until I found out the truth.

"They'd been holding my friend's parents, Sanja, hostage. She turned on us, saying she placed her parents higher than us. She tried to shoot me…but I was able to dodge it…" she said, rubbing the scar where the bullet had nicked her ear, "Of course the others shot her, and that's when the chaos started. Bullets were flying everywhere as the wolves clawed at us, but despite several wounds, we were actually winning.

"Next thing I next I knew, was flung across the room, laying on the floor. I'd hit my head, and all I felt was the blood pooling around me. I couldn't move…all I could do was watch them…watch them get ripped to shreds…" she said, tears forming in her eyes again. Sam gave her another pat on the back, which helped her again regain herself.

"When the others were dead, they started closing in on me, ready to kill me. The Alpha wanted to take pity on me, but he said he couldn't let me leave alive. Right then and there, your father arrived. He had all the weapons to better fend them off, so he was able to save me. In his haste to get me out, he wasn't able to kill them all, so he burned the house as he was escaping with me, hoping to kill off the rest.

"He took me to the hospital and left, knowing that he would probably be connected to the fire. He knew I would be safe at the hospital, so he decided the best thing for me would be if he left."

She took a deep breath, signifying the end of her story. She'd been through an emotional roller coaster, reliving her most painful memories. She snuggled herself closer in Sam's arms, feeling comfort in his warmth.

Dean, who at this point felt quite left out, interrupted the moment to ask one of the questions he and Sam had discussed earlier, "I'm sorry to break up this little fuzzy moment, but I've got one question," he said, cause both Artemis and Sam to look at him, "How exactly do you know they're back?"

"Well," she said, pausing slightly, "Things are starting to get like before."

"But why didn't you take care of things at the first sign? If you'd gone after them earlier, it would have been easier," he said, his tone slightly harsh.

"I couldn't," was all she said, tears forming in her eyes once more.

"Dean stop, she can't take it any more," Sam interjected, protecting her.

"Stop protecting her Sam. She could have stopped things early on and saved people. Now why couldn't you?" he said even firmer than before.

"Because…" she trailed off, tears now freely streaming down her face.

"Because what?" Dean shouted.

"Because I've been in a coma for the last two years!" she shouted back, releasing the final torment of her past.

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**A/N- Well, there you go! I've finally finished. God that was a long chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to fit the first werewolf encounter in the next chappie. YAY! That'll be fun…(Ha!Ha! I know something you don't know!) Now you know what do…REVIEW! I don't care if you only say one word or something, just please review! It helps motivate me to write more chappies faster. Anyhow, thanks…and see you next time!**


	3. Of Wolves and Men

**Author's Note  
****I won't beg for reviews anymore, I'll let you guys do whatever you please. If you want to review, then review. I'm not telling to not review, cause I really would appreciate it if you do, but if it's your wish not to, then I won't hassle you to. I will thank those that did review, which includes whimseyrhodes, Ghostwriter, mysticsilver86, sayuki123, KatieMalfoy19, and Natasha Winchester. I'll also thank the 115 people that went on to view chapter 2, as well as Natasha Winchester and Hanyou-demoness for putting me on their alert lists. Thanks!**

**-WARNING-  
****I just wanted to warn everybody, this chapter has references to some mature themes. I will keep this story PG-13 (rated T or whatever)…by referring to such themes very generally, with nothing too specific. I decided to keep the rating the same only because I've found things relating to such themes in both high and middle school. I for one, knew of such things at that early age (and I was the most innocent person in my school). As such, since I know the majority of people are NOT that innocent as to not notice such things, I will mention such 'adult themes'. If you rather them not be said after seeing how I refer to them, then I will gladly not include them. I only truly plan to include them once more, but that's about it. But if it bothers people too much, just say so, and I'll refrain (with really, really, really general descriptions). But, I have to warn you, I will do whatever the majority says. So if the majority doesn't care, I will follow that decision.

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**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 2- Of Wolves and Men**

Both Dean and Sam stared at Artemis, gaping. This new information seemed to have answered a lot of their questions, at the same time shocking them. What she had been doing these last two years…why she still seemed so emotional over those past events; that had answered everything.

"What do you mean you've been in a coma for the last two years?" Dean questioned, suddenly ashamed of his previous pressuring.

She looked away from both Dean and Sam's gaze, trying to hide the pain she had been suffering. Free of Sam's supportive arm, which had fallen away moments ago in shock, she rose and walked to the gated window, staring out into the day. She looked back just slight, avoiding their direct gaze.

"You father never knew," she stated very simply, sorrow filling her voice, "He gave the attending nurse his number, telling her to notify him of anything if I got any worse. Somehow, they lost it. Two days after I was admitted, they officially declared that I was in a coma due to severe physical and psychological head trauma."

Both Dean and Sam were speechless, neither having any words to express their shock. Artemis saw this change, and decided to break the silence.

"I don't want you guys to feel sorry for me," she said, turning to face them, "What happened, happened, and nothing can change that. I may have lost the last two years to them, but I'll be damned if I let them take any more time away from me."

Sam was the first of the brothers to speak, his shock slowly wearing away. "How long ago did you wake up?" he questioned.

"A little over three months ago," she said in a meek voice, her feet shifty, "I've pretty much been able to pick of my life where it left off, with a few exceptions.

"They officially revoked my scholarship, so that's one less thing to worry about," she said, her voice searching for a semi-hopeful tone.

"I'm so sorry," Sam said, "I know how you feel though. I recently had to take an extended leave from college, and my scholarship sponsors weren't too happy with me."

"I'm pretty much okay with it though," she said smiling making eyes contact with Sam, "I was pretty tired of college anyway. I'd been there for two years and I still didn't know what I wanted to major in. At least now I can officially call myself a werewolf hunter."

Dean gave a small chuckle at this, catching the gaze of both Artemis and his brother. He looked at them questioningly, "What? That was funny."

Sam shook his head in a disappointed manner, causing Artemis to started laughing slightly. "You guys are so funny together. You really act like a pair of brothers."

Out of the blue, a cell phone seemed to ring.

"It's not mine," Dean said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Don't worry, it's mine," Artemis said, pulling her cellular out of her pocket, "I set mine on an alarm clock. It's supposed to ring about half an hour before sunset."

She seemed to fumble with it for a second before the alarm went quiet. She then stuffed it into her pocket once more, and walked over to the bed.

"I'm gonna head back over to my place," she said, all the while slipping her gun into the back of her jeans, "I don't wanna wait till after sunset, cause that's when the majority of them come out. You can't tell the humans from the weres, but they're still there. I wouldn't recommend going out tonight. It's better to go out searching in the day, that way the pack will be asleep."

She strode over to the door and opened it, pausing slightly. She turned back to the brothers, a warm smile lighting up her face.

"I'm glad you guys came," she said gently, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket, "These are my contact numbers, so if you need anything give me a call. I'll see you tomorrow." Turning to Dean, a harsh, commanding look strayed across her face, "Stay outta trouble you, cause you seem like you're the one to easily find it." With this she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"So…now that _mother_ has decided to ground me, what should we do?" Dean asked sarcastically, apparently annoyed at Artemis's warning.

"Well, we could start finding out all we can about werewolves. I mean, I don't know about you, but I only know the little fairy tail stuff and what Dad's told us, which isn't a lot," Sam answered, apparently taking their warning seriously.

"Well, what the hell do you want me to do?" Dean spat, even more annoyed at being outnumbered two to one.

"Check out if there's anything in Dad's journal that he didn't tell us. I'm going to go get my laptop and see what I can look up online," he said before heading out.

Within a few minutes, Sam came back with all his equipment to find Dean sitting on the bed, cross-legged, pouting like a little kid. He was reading the journal, but with a seriously sour look on his face.

"What wrong with you?" Sam asked, curious, "You look like one of your girls just smacked you in the face."

"Shut up," Dean answered, not even flinching to look Sam in the face.

"C'mon, tell me what's wrong," Sam pressured further.

"Shut your cakehole and mind your own business," Dean answered even more sourly than before.

Sam stood there confused for a second, but then it hit him. He'd only seem Dean act this way once before, so I wasn't that hard to figure it out.

"Your jealous aren't you?" Sam asked, realization evident in his voice.

Dean seemed taken back by this, uncomfortable about the truth of the question. He ignored Sam, concentrating even more on the journal in front of him.

"You jealous cause she didn't pay you any attention, right?" Sam inquisitive nature pushing Dean to his limit, "I mean the only other time you started acting like this was when we were after that banshee in Mississippi. We stopped off in that nightclub and that girl you kept trying to hit on kept ignoring you, and kept trying to hit on me."

"SHUT UP!" Dean shouted, acting a bit too much like a ten year old…a very perverted ten year old.

"Hey, don't blame me just because you're the emotionally challenged one," Sam said grudgingly, starting to hook u several wired to his laptop.

The brothers ignored each other for over an hour, before one of them spoke. Dean, after finishing their father's journal, became very impatient, until he could take it anymore.

"I'm going out," he said, grabbing his jacket off the bed.

Sam turned and looked at his brother, worry crossing his face. "She said not to go out tonight," was all he said, his brotherly instincts revealing themselves.

"I don't give a shit what she said, I'm going out."

Before Sam could manage another word, Dean had already grabbed his car keys and was out the door.

"Shit," Sam muttered under his breath, worry filling his mind. His brother was still pissed, and when he was pissed, he usually did something stupid. Sam had no idea where his brother would go, but then a thought crossed his mind. Artemis would know this town better than him, so with her help he may be able to figure out his brother's destination.

Walking over to the dresser, he grabbed the piece of paper she had left them, plugging the number into his cell phone. For a few seconds the phone just rang, but then a sleepy voice answered on the other end.

"Hello…?" her heard her say, a yawn apparent.

"Hey Artemis? It's Sam."

"Hey Sam…what's up? Something going on?" she said clearer now, wakefulness beginning to become apparent in her voice.

"Listen, my brother just left, and I think he's gonna do something stupid. What kind places do you have in this town?"

"What?" she answered, the worry apparent in her voice, "He left?"

"Yeah," he said, "I don't know where he went though. We weren't really on speaking terms."

"What were you arguing about?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"It's complicated."

"I'm only asking cause it might tell you where he went."

Sam concentrated for a few seconds, and then it hit him, "Artemis, are there any clubs or bars in town?"

"Um…" she said, trailing off, "Yeah, Ol' Hal's, it right up the road…but why would Dean go there?"

"Oh trust me, that's where Dean'll be. Listen, how fast can you get over here? Dean took the car so…yeah."

"I can be over there in three minutes if I hurry," she said, hustle apparent in the back ground, "Gather as many weapons as you can hide, just in case. I'll be over in a few minutes so hurry."

With this the line went silent, causing Sam to gather as many weapons as he could find. They hadn't unloaded most of their arsenal yet, so the majority of it was with Dean and the car. Sam simply sat on the bed…and waited.

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Dean sped along the dirt road, trying to deal with his thoughts. Yeah, he'd been jealous of Sam and Artemis…but there was no way in hell he was going to say it. He'd always had insecurities about women, but since most of the time his charm worked, they rarely came to light.

"I'll show them," he whispered to himself, "I can get any girl I want."

He saw a club coming up on the road called Ol' Hal's, and the though 'perfect' crossed his mind. He pulled over, slicked his hair back, and got out of the car. He walked into the club, where several strippers were dancing to a country mixed dance tune. He sat over at the bar, and order himself a beer.

Within a few second, a mysterious women walked over toward him. She was graced with thick and curly back hair, and apparently in Dean's case a large set of breasts. Almost immediately he turned on the old 'Winchester charm' and let it do it's work.

"So little lady…what are you doing here so late at night? Isn't a past your bedtime?" he said, his flirt evident.

"I thought I'd have a little fun," she answered, her honey eyes gleaming, "Care to join me?"

Within a few moments they had made their way to the backroom, and each was kissing any piece of skin they could find. Knocking over a few boxes, they found themselves on the floor, tearing each others clothes off.

"You sure play easy to get," Dean said as he finally caught a breath.

His other merely smiled, flashing her teeth, "All the better to get what I want." With this remark, she tore off the remainder of his shirt, kissing his sculpted stomach. "Nice," she said, "Very nice."

"Thanks…" was all he could manage before she was on top of him again. She trailed her names down his stomach, eying him once more.

"Hm…you'll do," she said, causing Dean to look at her confusing. At this she tore of her long shirt and dived on top of him almost immediately. She began to unzip his pants, pulled them off faster than he expected her to.

He decided to make a feel of her ass, when he felt something awkward. By the time he had gotten a look at what he had grabbed, she'd pinned him to the floor between her legs. He struggled against her weight, but with an unknown strength she held past. He saw the object of realization swinging behind her, now in plain sight. She had a _tail_; a furry, wolf-like _tail._

"What the hell do you want?" Dean shouted, fighting futilely against her hold.

"Aw, not having fun when your not in control?" she asked, taunting him. She raked her now claw-like nails down Dean's chest, leaving a bloody trail. Dean grunted, but refused to cry out; he wouldn't give her that satisfaction. He tried to call for help, but she clamped one of her hands over his mouth, muting his distress.

Using her claws, she ripped away his underwear, at the same time tearing off her own. She merely smiled at him all the while, her teeth having grown feral.

Dean's mind raced, unsure of what to do. He felt helpless, unable to stop what was about to happen. He'd never thought his deny himself of this…situation…but this certainly was a first. He was out of body, zoning out. He'd stopped fighting already, having seen the hopelessness of it.

She licked the blood off his chest, trailing her tongue up to his face. She saw how he just sat there, unmoving, his spirit broken. He'd given up, and now that he stopped fighting her, she'd make him hers. With this last thought, and one last kiss, she pushed him inside her.

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Artemis must have raced over to the motel, cause she was there almost immediately after his call. He hurried in, and she took off almost before he'd fully strapped himself in. Her green Ford pickup sped down the dirt roads, leaving a dusty trail in it's wake. Both Sam and Artemis were silent, and worried.

"Do you think he's gonna be alright?" Sam asked, the silence having been too much for him.

"I don't know. Your brother's the perfect example of what _they_ try to recruit. That's why I told you guys to keep it low," she answered, her eyes still glued to the road.

"But do you think they'll do it? Infect him? Make him…one of those things…?" Sam asked, his voice shaking.

She reached her hand over, and held him. "They won't…I'll be damned…they _won't_…" she said, trailing off as well.

As they drew closer to the club, Sam saw what he'd been looking for. "There's his car!" he shouted anxiously.

Artemis swung the steering wheel to the left, causing the car to skid through the dirt to a stop. They both bolted out of the pick up and ran into the club. While Sam searched every which way for Dean, Artemis immediately marched straight toward the bartender.

"Hey! Ol' Hal!" she shouted, grabbing his attention, "You seen some stranger come through here? About this tall-" she used to her hands to show this, "-and a real wise ass. Probably tried to flirt with the first piece of as he saw."

Ol' Hal seemed to concentrate for a second before a look of recognition crossed his face. "Oh yeah, young little whipper-snapper right? He came in about ten minutes ago, took off with this girl."

Sam ran up as soon as he heard their conversation "You found him?" she anxiously asked Artemis.

She held up her finger, signaling him to hold on. "Do you know where they went?" she asked Ol' Hal, face full of concern.

"Um…I think they went to the back. Not sure though," he said, shrugging.

"Thanks Hal!" she said dashing off, Sam in hot pursuit.

Together, they burst through the back door to find Dean pinned down by a girl, her feral teeth inches from his neck. Sam immediately pulled out his gun and fired, hitting the girl in the shoulder and knocking her off the traumatized Dean.

As Artemis locked eyes with the werewolf, her mouth gasped slightly. The werewolf grinned at this, savoring her shock.

"Surprised to see me Artemis?" the werewolf said, standing there quite casual and quite nude, her tail wagging behind her.

Artemis's look shifted from one of shock to one of rage, and she pulled out her revolver in a blur. In a flurry of bullets, the werewolf jumped out the back window and took off sprinting. Artemis kept pulling the trigger long after she'd emptied the clip, her eyes staring unfocused at where the werewolf had stood seconds before.

Sam kneeled next to Dean, who had long ago passed out. When he noticed Artemis's blank stare, he called out to her. "Artemis!" he shouted, catching her still dazed attention, "I need your help!"

Still slightly overcome, she knelt next to Sam, passing her hand over Dean's bloody chest. "It doesn't look like she got the chance to bite him," she said, her concentration slowly taking back it's hold, "He's not infected, just marked."

"What do you mean 'marked'?" Sam asked, his voice full of worry.

"She marked him with her scent," she said, taking a deep breath, "She raped him…it means none of the others can touch him. He's hers to deal with, to turn. This is what they usually do. They mark somebody, and by the full moon they've already been infected."

"But he'll be alright though?"

"Yeah…physically. He was just _raped_ Sam, by a _girl_," she said, eying not Sam but Dean, "Tell me, how do you think he's gonna take it, him being a womanizer and all? He's used to dominating over women, and now he was just raped by one. And I don't think it being a werewolf is gonna make it any better."

Sam looked at Dean with sympathy, his eyes tearing up slightly. "I'm gonna make sure you're all right Dean…don't worry…" he said, trailing off, "…it's my fault…it's all my fault…I wasn't there for him…I let him leave…"

"Sam, it wasn't your fault. There's nothing you could have done," she whispered soothingly, reassuring him, "He left of his own free will, and his choices led him to this. You have no reason to blame yourself."

"Hey…you do know I can hear you two right?" said a weak voice behind them. They both turned around to see Dean weakly smiling at the both of them, "I sure know how to pick e'm…don't I?"

Sam lunged forward and hugged his brother, relief washing over his face.

"Ow! Get off me!" Dean shouted, causing Sam to release him, "No chick flick moments, okay Sammy?"

Artemis slid off her jacket and tossed it over to Dean, a smile lighting up her face, "We should go back to my place…apparently I can't leave you two alone."

Sam gave a small chuckle at this, lightening his depression. "Yeah," he said, wiping the scarce tears off his face. Just then, he remembered what had happened only moments before. "Artemis," he said, catching her attention, "Who was that girl?"

She looked as if someone had just stabbed her in the heart, her face haven gone pale. She avoided Sam and Dean's gaze as tears began falling down her face.

"I thought she was dead…" was all she could mumble out.

"Who?" Sam asked, "Who did you think was dead?"

She looked Sam straight in the eyes, tears now flowing freely, "She…two years ago…betrayed us…"

Sam thought back to her previous recount of the events that transpired those years ago, trying to make sense of her nonsense babble.

"…she was the friend…the friend that betrayed us…that killed them…she was my best friend…Sanja…" she said trailing off.

* * *

**A/N- Ha! Thought I've leave you at another little cliff hanger. I would have written more, but I was at a bit of a writer's block though. Don't worry, I know what I am going to write next. So don't worry. The next chapter is going to be a Christmas centered one, but at the same time in will coincide with my storyline…so I get to kill two birds with one stone! Anyway, I hope to have it up by either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, that way it'll be your little present. Well, till next time!**


	4. Christmas Gifts & Christmas Curses

**Author's Note  
Hey y'all! How was your holiday? I hope it was good, and maybe this will make it even better! Here's my late Christmas present to you (don't ask why it's so late…lets just put it this way, I haven't been able to enjoy one Christmas present that I've got…I've just been so busy), which includes this chapter…and a little surprise which I will reveal at the end. And no peeking! Be a good little reader and read the chappie first, and then you can see what your present is. By the way, I'd like to thank the following people for reading and reviewing the last chappie, which includes Sayuki123, Ghostwriter, KatieMalfoy19, and Whimseyrhodes. Oh yes, Whimseyrhodes, I like to say that you gave mea good idea to follow up on some 'Dean angst'. I was originally only gonna focus on some angst with Sam, but I was able to figure out how to meld both…here it is! Oh, I'd also like to thank Vinsmouse, and I'm sorry the website isn't allowing you to review. I'm honored that you went out of your way to send me a message telling me this, and I just wanted to thank you. I was going to say, if it won't let you review while logged in, try reviewing anonymously, maybe that will work. Also, I'd like to thanks the 172 people that went on to view chapter 2, thanks! Anyway, on with the chappie!

* * *

**

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
By: Final Spirit **

**Chapter 3- Christmas Gifts & Christmas Curses**

_Running…he was running. _

_Well, not actually him. Sam could feel himself inside someone else, looking out their eyes. He saw this person run through this dark and daunting forest, feeling their terror…the terror of being chased. They dared not face what lied behind them, the fear it instilled keeping them running on pure adrenaline. _

_Howls filled the dark forest, emanating from around them. Sam's thoughts raced, his mind pondering upon the horror that hunted them. Howls sounded again from behind them, and Sam's mind filled with the answer; werewolf…a werewolf was chasing them. _

_He felt them trip, sending them sprawling forward in mid air. They collided with the wet earth, Sam dreading the end he felt was near. They turned to face the beast, but nothing was there. Standing up, they walked toward the misty lake which had now revealed itself out of the darkness. _

_They stood over its still surface, as reflective as a mirror. As Sam looked out from eyes that were not his own, he saw who truly ran from the beast…whose fear had welled up inside even his own mind. _

_He...was Dean. _

_Sam saw the creature lunge at Dean from the tree tops, unable to warn his brother of the looming threat. _

_Sam felt his brother's pain as the beast crashed into him, crouching over his now immobile form. _

_Saliva dripped hot and wet from the beast's snout as it snarled in their face, its weight pinning Dean beneath it. Sam stared through shifty eyes, looking deep into the monster's golden gaze. It seemed to sniff at Dean for a moment, before unexpectedly backing away. _

_The monster raised his head to the sky, releasing its chilling howl. Many subsequent howls erupted from the forest around them, filling the crisp air with lupine music. _

_Sam felt Dean struggle to stand up in the face of the creature, who still stood nearby. Small beams of light began to fall from the sky, causing Dean to look to it's source. The moon weaved its way through the clouds, the full orb enveloping them with it's light. When it washed over them, Sam felt Dean's body light on fire, his screams piercing the night. _

_Sam screamed, his brother's pain filling him, until reality came rushing back._

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Sam bolted up out of the comfort of his bed, scanning the room. His dream had felt real…too real. He turned to face his brother, whom his screams had woken. As Dean's face was pale, dripping with sweat; he had a sickly, daunting appearance that had seemed to wash over him the past couple days…since his encounter with the werewolf Sanja.

"What's wrong now…bad dream again?" Dean asked as he yawned, waking himself up. Dark bags fell under his eyes, his apparent lack of a good night's sleep showing.

Sam looked at his brother, slightly worried. "Yeah, it was weird though," he answered.

Dean thought back to his own nightmare from moments before, awoken from it by Sam's screams. He'd had the same nightmare for several days now, it's nature scarcely allowing him a peaceful sleep. "What was it?" he questioned, his own nightmare in mind.

"I don't know." Sam said, trailing off, ".to be straight the dream wasn't even about me. It was about you."

This response had been the equivalent to a slap in the face, causing Dean's sleepiness to vanish in the moment. He looked at Sam with a serious glare, fear in his eyes. "What the hell do you mean it was about me?" he asked sternly.

"Well." Sam trailed off. He didn't want to upset his brother, who had seemed threatened by the fact that Sam had dreamt about him. Dean had been overly defensive about several issues since _it_ had happened, and this wasn't making it any better. "Well…you were running through a forest, being chased by this werewolf--" Sam didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence before Dean exploded.

"You little asshole!" Dean shouted, earning a confused look from Sam. Dean had sprung up at his remark and was now pacing across the room. "I don't give a damn about your little psychic deal, but I draw the line when you use it to invade my privacy!"

Sam merely stared at with brother in shock, unable to take in what he'd been hearing. _'I was in his dream?'_ he thought to himself, still absorbing the severity of the situation. "Um...I'm sorry?" Sam said in a questionable tone. He didn't really know what to say to this, it had pretty much surprised him. Yeah, he had somewhat prophetic dreams...but he'd never actually found himself in someone else's dream. This was completely new and unexpected.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Dean yelled back, "You had no right butting in on my dreams!"

"Look! Calm down!" Sam shouted, trying to catch Dean's attention, "I didn't even know I was doing it. It's not like I can control those things Dean, you know that."

Dean seemed to calm down at this, regaining himself. He didn't really know what had come over him, but recently it'd become harder and harder to control his anger. He'd been lashing out at both Sam and Artemis all week, and he really didn't know why. He supposed it had something to do with what had happened…but he'd put that behind him already. Yeah…it had hurt him, but he'd never been one to dwell on things. He knew what they said; what didn't kill you, made you stronger. As far as he knew, he'd pretty learned his lesson; make sure to check for a tail before he went off with a girl.

They heard a knock on the bedroom door as Artemis walked in, wearing an apron. "So how's our little grumpy man, still complaining?" she said with a sly smile on her face, happy with their company.

Apparently, since their little incident, she'd declared that they were 'too reckless' on their own and forced them to stay in her place, to keep an eye on them. Ever since they'd moved in, she seemed to cheer up a lot more. Sam guessed it was because she appreciated their company, having previously been alone in quite a large house.

"I'm not grumpy," Dean grumbled, pouting like a ten year old.

She merely gave him a smile, which said that he had basically just proved her true. After a minute, she simply laughed, "I got breakfast on the table, hurry up or it'll get cold."

"Yummy!" Dean shouted, apparently cheered up at the prospect of food.

Within a few minutes they were all up downstairs happy enjoying an assortment of eggs, bacon, and toasts. It was all relatively quiet until Artemis broke the silence.

"So what were you guys arguing about before?" she asked, curiosity filling her voice.

Sam was about to tell her about the dream, but Dean, seeing this, quickly interjected. "It was nothing," he said quickly, "Just some stuff between brothers."

But Artemis could tell from the look in Sam's eyes that there was more to this than Dean was saying. She quickly decided to try and work it out of him, sensing that it was quite important.

"C'mon…I can't know?" she questioned quite cautiously, "It's not like anybody else is gonna know. Besides, if we're gonna be working together, we have to be honest with each other."

Dean took in her words, but for the moment kept ignoring her. He reached for another slice of Canadian bacon, but Artemis snatched the plate away, a sly smile on her face, "Or…I could just refuse to feed you until you choose to tell me."

Dean, a stubborn look on his face, pushed away from the table and walked away, muttering "Fine!" beneath his breath.

"What's been eating at him all week?" Artemis said sarcastically, her face beaming.

Sam merely looked at her with a disapproving look. "You shouldn't tease him that way, especially not now," he said, his voice taking on a lecturing tone.

"Sorry," she said, giving a slight giggle, "Old habits. I've always been known to be quite stubborn, so I can tend to push a little too hard at times." She paused for a second before she remembered their previous conflict, "So what was it that he was so keen to hide?"

"Well.," Sam said, trailing off. He didn't exactly want to betray his brother's trust, but he didn't see the harm in telling her anything, "It has to do with a dream he had."

"What? He scared to share his dreams?" she said with amusement in her voice, but then a new look washed over her face, confusion, "Wait…how do you know what he was dreaming?" she asked curiously.

Sam went on to explain about Jessica and his dreams, how they seemed to be prophetic and such. He told her about their encounter with their father's friend Missouri, and how she gave a bit more insight onto Sam's 'psychic' abilities. She seemed saddened by this, but at the same time she seemed to connect more with Sam, knowing that he himself had also lost someone he cared for. Deciding to reveal the nature of Dean's dream, he hold her what had happened. Initially a concerned look crossed over her face, but after a while it faded. By the time he finished, she didn't really seem in the least bit worried, saying that abnormal dreams were common with incidents such as what happened.

Sam on the other hand, was much more interested by her change in reactions. She seemed to have brushed off her first thoughts, apparently denying them. Sam wondered what they could have possibly been, but within a few minutes Dean came back into the kitchen grumpier than ever.

"I'm going out," Dean said, about to grab his keys.

"I wouldn't leave now if I were you," Artemis said, grabbing his keys before he could.

He stared at her with a look of annoyance, fed up, "And why would I not want to leave? It's not like we're getting any farther on finding the nest."

"Well," she said, twirling the keys around her finger, "If you guys can't tell by now, tonight's Christmas Eve."

Both Dean and Sam looked at her, unexpectancy written over their faces, surprised at their own ignorance. They'd both seemed to have forgotten Christmas, despite the numerous decorations around them that Artemis had hung the night before.

Dean seemed to gain a bit more wit from this, his mood lightening, "I was wondering what was up with all the Christmas stuff. So what do you do around here for Christmas, drink the night away?" He grinned at this, apparently enlightened at the possibility.

"Well, that's sort of exactly what we do. In about five hours we have to go back over to Ol' Hal's…the whole town is gonna be there. It's how we celebrate Christmas around here, it's town wide, seeing how we're not exactly that large of a town."

"We have to go?" Sam asked, apparently not enlightened by the prospect of going out to have a couple of drinks and partying.

She smiled, an apologetic look on her face. "Yeah, sorry. Small town, so it'll seem weird if we don't show up. Specially with all these disappearances, they'll be a little suspicious about you guys, despite me knowing you. We'll just show our faces for a little while, but then we'll head home."

"Aw! We can't stay?" Dean asked, crushed by the fact that they were only staying shortly.

Artemis gave him a taunting grin before confirming that they may be able to stay a bit longer…if Dean promised to cheer up and stop using them as anger-management tools. He finally agreed after a few seconds, promising to be on his 'best behavior'. And with that, they worked for a few hours, using all of their info to further their search for the werewolf's nest.

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Within a few hours they'd gone no further from when they'd started, which didn't exactly improve the mood. Dean had started to become increasingly grumpier again, but after Artemis reminded him of his promise, he calmed down again.

"Listen, I think it's time we gave up for tonight," she said, exhaustion written over her face, "The party's gonna start in about an hour, and I still have to get ready."

"What do you mean you gotta get ready?" Dean asked, looking her over. She'd been wearing a large long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, but Dean didn't she why she needed to change. _'What's she complaining about?' _said a voice in his head, _'We're just going out for a couple of drinks.' _

"You may not have noticed Dean, but I'm not just a hunter," she said, apparently his lack of attention pissing her off, "I'm also a girl, and there is no way in hell I'm going like this."

Dean simply scowled at this remark, mocking her. Sam could see Artemis's anger starting rise, so he decided to step in before it got out of hand.

"Listen, why don't you go get ready Artemis," Sam said, stepping between her and his brother, "We'll clean up the mess here."

She seemed to contemplate this for a second before muttering an "Okay!" under her breath and walking upstairs. Dean just keep scowling at her like a bickering ten year old.

"What is wrong with you?" Sam asked, turning to face his brother. Dean's antics hadn't exactly been making him happy either, and he was full of it by now.

"What?" he answered, apparently truly clueless to what he'd done.

Sam merely sighed, unsure how to word this to his brother, "You've got to use a bit more tact Dean. I mean, what you said was sort of cruel."

"How was what I said cruel? I'm great with girls! How the hell did I offend her 'womanhood'?" Dean asked, partially fanatical.

"You were completely ignorant. Of course she needed to change, I could've told you she wouldn't go out like that," Sam said, "And you say your good with women, huh."

Dean couldn't seem to find and answer to this, so he stormed off as well. Sam was left in the basement to clean up the assortment of maps and files left on the table. He kept thinking to himself about everything that had been going the past week. What freaked him out the most though, was the fact that he hadn't once though of Jessica at all during his time there. It had only been this morning, when he explained everything to Artemis, that he'd first thought of her. In fact, it had actually been Artemis that'd been on his mind for the past week.

From the first moment he'd seen her, it'd been like when he initially met Jessica. There was just a connection there, one he couldn't explain. He wouldn't call it 'love at first sight', but there was some bond that the two of them shared. He couldn't tell whether she'd felt it either, but she definitely seemed to brighten up whenever he was around. 'Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part,' Sam thought to himself. Whatever it was, it wasn't helping him get any farther cleaning things up. He buried the thought, and went to finish the chore.

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An hour had gone and passed, with Dean and Sam now waiting in the living room. Artemis had taken to locking herself in her room, and whenever they asked what was taking so long, a simple "JUST KEEP YOUR PANTS ON!" was shouted from behind the upstairs door.

"What the hell is taking her so long?" Dean muttered angrily, pacing his way around the room. Curses raced through his head, unable to find their way out. 'That little bitch!' said one of the voices inside his head, 'She lectures me and she's the one that takes forever! I wish I could rip her throat out!'

"Give her some time Dean," Sam said, breaking Dean's train of thought.

"What the hell for?" Dean shouted angrily, "She's been in there for over an hour!"

"You got a lot to learn if you ever want to be with a girl," Sam said with a grin, "Cause this happens almost all the time."

Dean merely let out a grunt at this and continued to wear a groove into the floor. Within a few minutes they heard the door unlock upstairs, followed by a pair of rushed footsteps running toward the stairs. Artemis dashed downstairs, earning a stare from Sam…and leaving Dean speechless.

She had softly graced her faced with some natural shades of make-up, playing up her astonishing features. A short black tank dress graced her shape, perfectly matched with a pair of knee-high black laced boots and a black jeweled choker. The back eye-liner she was wearing brought out the gold tone in her jade eyes, giving her an otherworldly aura.

"You look beautiful," Sam said, finally able to muster some words.

Dean still looked speechless but was able to muster and accompanying "Yeah."

She simply looked at the two of them, smiling. "Stop staring and c'mon!" she said, breaking the trance, "We're gonna be late."

With that, they walked out the door and headed towards Dean's Impala. Dean seemed puzzled at this, and of course had to question it.

"Why aren't we taking your truck?" Dean asked, appalled at the thought of someone else driving his baby.

"Well." she trailed off, twirling the keys around her finger, "Everyone in town has been talking about you guys, and a couple of them were saying how beautiful your car was." Dean beamed at this comment, his pride swelling. "Thought we'd all give them a show for their money." With this, she tossed the keys over to Dean, who gladly caught them and slipped into the driver's seat.

Sam opened the back door for Artemis and slid in next to her, causing her to blush slightly. The ride was marked mostly by an uncomfortable silence, which stayed unbroken between the three of them. Within a few minutes though, they thankfully arrived at the bar where most of the town's people were still crowding in.

"Let's park over there, " Artemis said, pointing to the only space left, "Hurry or someone else will get it."

With that they pulled into the empty space and exited the car. They mixed with the small crowd, entering the bar quietly. Sitting down at one of the side tables, a frantic waitress rushed up to them, pulling out a small notepad.

"Hey Margaret!" Artemis happily shouted over the noisy crowd.

The waitress seemed to snap out of her rush and looked over at Artemis, a look of recognition washing over her face. "Hey honey!" she said happily, "How are things up at the house?"

"Oh, things are pretty much fine," she responded, but quickly noticed the confused look on her face at the sight of Sam and Dean, "Them two are friends from college. Headed up her once they heard I was alright."

At this her face seemed to relax, a sympathetic look now crossing over her features, "You boys are such dears! Comin' over here to help our girl out. What can I get you guys? It's on the house."

"I'll have a beer," Dean said, earning the same response from Sam and Artemis.

"Comin' right up!" she said happily, walking away. Within a few minutes she returned with their drinks and ran off again, called away by another table.

Dean scanned the crowd like a wolf hunting its prey, looking for any girl he could get his hands on. Within a few minutes, he seemed to have found his catch and walked off without a word. When Artemis saw who he'd picked, she burst out laughing.

"What's up?" Sam asked, highly confusing.

Artemis merely kept on laughing, unable to stop. "Lemme tell you," she finally said once she was able to stop laughing, "Your brother has the worst luck with girls."

"Why do you say that?" he asked, still partially confused.

"See that girl over there?" she said, pointing to the girl Dean was happily in conversation with, "She's Jim Hawkin's daughter."

Sam was still confused, and she saw it on his face and quickly apologized, "Sorry, forgot you aren't from around here. Well, Jim Hawkins was in the military for a few years; the marines. When he came back…lets just say no one's gone out with his daughter since. Last poor fool was chased halfway down the block by her father with a shotgun."

Sam laughed as well at this, finally seeing the humility in this. "He never learns," he finally said.

Another uncomfortable silence followed this as each drank beer after beer, but was broken when a screeching noise filled the room. Some drunken man had grabbed the microphone and was now tapping it quite loudly, causing the screeching feedback. When he was finally satisfied that it was working, he raised it to his mouth preparing a speech.

"Mewwy Chrwistmas everwyone!" he shouted with a slur, his eyes drooping, "T'hime to gwet thwis paarty started!" With this, an old-fashioned country-like swing started, causing most of the people to jump on the empty dance floor.

"Uh…I hate this music," Sam heard Artemis say as she rolled her eyes, "I can't believe I actually used to like this stuff as a kid."

She seemed to slightly enjoy the music though, deep down, like it brought up some happy memories. Sam noticed, this, and decided to take a chance.

"Um…would you like to dance?" he cautiously blurted out, dreading it once he'd said it. He knew he would have normally never asked, but he could tell by the burning in his throat that the alcohol had begun to take its toll.

She seemed partially surprised by his question and was actually speechless for a second. He took her silence as a no and began to slump back, but then she smiled.

"I'd love to," she said, blushing furiously.

With this he rose, reaching out his hand to her. She shyly grabbed it, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. Sam was a little unsure of how to dance to this kind of music, but quickly adapted after a minute or two. The two weaved around each other, laughing with the beat. Sam pulled her in to him, during mid-swing, and as the two swung towards each other, their lips met. Both froze then and there, but neither pulled away. The music finally ended, and the two separated, still partially shocked.

"I'm sorry," Artemis whispered, avoiding Sam's gaze. Then she looked up at him, as if she were observing his reaction.

He himself was still shocked, but looked at Artemis longingly, as if he rather it hadn't played out any other way. When both their eyes finally met again, only one thought crossed their minds; there's no denying it. Their lips met once again, but this time…it wasn't by accident.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean was off having his own fun with the girl he'd just met, Jane Hawkins. After a few minutes of conversation and a great many drinks, they had winded up in the backroom, their mouths grabbing for any piece of skin they could find.

Almost immediately Dean had felt up her ass, checking for any wolfish signs. When he found none, he began peeling off her sweater, his lust flaring. Maybe it was just the alcohol, but a small voice had risen at the back of his head. _'Want...'_ it began, trailing off. Dean simply ignored it, but there it was again, _'Need…' _His mouth had suddenly gone dry, his stomach growling at him.

Then out of nowhere it hit him, a sharp pain in the stomach. It was blinding, working its way into his nerves. He heard Jane's voice in the distance, shouting frantic questions...but she sounded so far away to him. The voice once again filled his head, louder and more coherent than ever, _'Want it...need it…' _

It was like something had taken over his body, he couldn't stop himself. The next thing he knew he was on top of Jane, who'd been knocked out cold. From there, it seemed as if his mind had gone numb. He saw random flashes…there was blood everywhere…it covered him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam's head pounded as the light shined on his eyes. The majority of the previous night was merely a blur…he couldn't remember anything that had happened. Dancing…a kiss…it was all fuzzy. He forced his eyes open, despite the daylight that burned them. He was in the back seat on Dean's Impala…apparently absent of any clothing. As he looked to the nude form next to him, his mind filled with dread of what could of possibly transpired…it was Artemis.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Dean finally regained himself, he was on the floor. He head pounded, feeling as if a haze was slowly weakening its hold on him. A coppery taste filled his mouth, and as he looked beside him, he gagged it out. A crimson bile flowed from his mouth, his disgust expelling it forth. He forced his eyes to the center of his fear, dreading what lied before him…

Jane's limp body laid beside him…her throat torn out.

* * *

**A/N- Again, I am sorry it took so long to get this out. Me mum's been up my ass so badly that last couple of days, and it's made it nearly impossible to finish this. Plus I was partially stuck on what to do. This story has taken such a turn from how I originally envisioned it, it's not even funny. So I've had to rethink some details that have changed…but the general idea I had has still not diminished. **

**Oh! Yeah, I just remembered your Christmas present! And it is…a picture of Artemis! In the spare time that I was cut off from my computer I was able to draw a picture of my character Artemis. In your review, leave your e-mail, and I will be sure to send it to you. I wasn't able to color it (as I said before, serious lack of time) but I think it still looks good. Also, I've given some small hints here and there about a big thing that will happen with Sam, and if you can guess it I'll give you a small cameo in the story. So there! Those are my treats to you for the Holidays…so Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy (belated) New Year!**


	5. The Monsters Within

**Author's Note**

**Sorry about the long wait. My muse decided to give me a good conk on the head to get my imagination flowing, and here's the result. I just wanted to get this out and give you guys something. I'll see what I can get out next as soon as possible. I know that's not too reliable coming from me but I'll try! By the way, I want to give a shout out to everyone that not only read the last chapter and reviewed, but to those you also kept contact asking me for updates. I'm glad to see that my story is appreciated that much. It makes me feel special! -hugs readers to death- THANK YOU! **

**-Solstice of the Moon-**

**By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 4- The Monsters Within**

Sam couldn't believe his eyes. Looking at Artemis' peaceful form, incoherent flashes passed before his eyes. The previous night was a blur, and his head continued to pound preventing him from even thinking about it.

Being careful, Sam slowing began sliding on his clothes, leaving Artemis sleeping soundly on the back seat. Thoughts raced through his mind,_ 'Boy…I'm going to have to do a lot of explaining to Dean about his car…'_ but then another thought popped up, _'Where IS Dean?'_

Before entering the bar to look for Dean, Sam quietly pulled a blanket out of the Impala's trunk, carefully draping it over the lithe form in the back seat. Artemis stirred momentarily before becoming still once again, grasping the blanket close. Sam silently closed the car, and ambled in the still bar. Unconscious forms were draped over various objects, and loud snorings rang out above the low music still flowing around the room.

For a moment Sam felt he might hurl, for no apparent reason, but then the feeling seemed to pass quickly. It was only then that he saw himself in one of the bar's mirrors. Not only was his skin paler then usual…a LOT paler…but dark bags sagged under his eyes. He looked so sick that he might drop dead the next second. Not only did he look sick, but he felt sick.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, he mentally fell once again upon the thought of Dean. A sound from the back room caught his attention, and with Dean still in mind, he walked toward it.

* * *

Blood everywhere. That was the scene that lied before Dean now. All he could do was stare in horror, his mind numb. A growl arose from the pit of his gut and crimson bile once again spewed out onto the blood stained floor. When a whimper escaped from his throat, he quickly pushed it down. He had to get control of himself. 

As he looked at his hands, he nearly screamed. Pieces of flesh and blood were buried under what were no longer nails, but feral claws.

Suddenly footsteps rang in his ears; someone was coming. A strange scent hit his nose, and without truly knowing how he recognized it, he knew it was Sam coming. Before he had a chance to scramble away, the door creaked open.

* * *

Sam didn't think anything could surprise him more after this morning, but this blew everything away. His brother sat crouched on the floor, covered in blood, his pale face paralyzed with shock and fear. Sam didn't even realize it, but the next second his gun was pointed at Dean. 

"W-what's happening t-to me?" Dean stuttered out, ashen faced. Sam then noticed what Dean was staring at. He was staring at the monstrous blood stained claws that now adorned his once human hands. His brother fell forward as blood filled vomit slashed onto the floor.

Tears filled Sam's eyes. His brother, the headstrong Dean that Sam had always known, was broken and suffering. With a loud thud, Sam's gun fell uselessly to the floor.

The sound caused Dean to look at Sam, panic written over his face. When Sam stepped toward his brother, Dean quickly backed away. "Get away from me!" Dean yelled, his eyes wide with fear.

"I'm not going to hurt you…" Sam said soothingly, tears falling freely from his eyes. He hadn't watched out for his brother, and now he was paying the price. But he'd been damned if he couldn't help his brother now.

Dean's eyes shifted away from his brother's, avoiding the gaze he knew was reaching out toward him. "I know…" Dean whispered, "…but I don't want to hurt you…" Dean didn't know what would happen if Sam came to close. Would he lose control again and kill his own brother? He couldn't risk it. He just wanted to die. This was his worst fear, to become the very thing that he had hunted his whole life. He didn't want to become this thing…this thing inside him.

"You won't Dean…" Sam said, "You're stronger than it, you can fight it. Let me help you…"

As thoughts raced inside Dean's mind, his features softened slightly. He lifted his bloody hand, reaching out for his brother. Sam showed no fear as his hand reached for his brother's, their hands inches apart.

A shot rang out and Deans body crumpled to the floor. Sam cried out but a firm pair of arms grabbed him from behind and held him back. He struggled against them futilely, until he simply fell to the floor sobbing.

Artemis walked past him and kneeled down, putting her fingers to Dean's throat. She sat crouched there for a second before she withdrew her hand, her solemn look softening slightly.

Sam's sobs grew louder as he looked up at her, hate written over his face. He lunged at her, but with an incredible force she simply pushed him back with one hand. She looked over at Sam, pulling forward a small object that she had plucked off Dean's limp form.

Sam's hate soon melted into relief as he recognized what Artemis was holding; a tranquilizer dart. He looked into her eyes with happiness, but what stared back at him was nothing that he met with recognition. She still looked like the Artemis he had known, but something was different. There was no kindness nor innocence in those eyes that he loved so much; the Artemis he knew and felt for was no longer present in the person before him. She radiated power and dominance, her eyes shining an unearthly gold.

Artemis ripped her gaze from Sam's and looked back over at Dean. Sam could've sworn he saw a lone tear fall down her cheek, but she turned farther away from him, trying to uphold her ironclad disposition.

"We need to get him back to my place," she said simply. There was no force in her voice, but it rang out with a newfound strength that made it clear; she was in charge now.

* * *

**A/N- Sorry if it's too short. I just wanted to give you guys something. Just a little heads up, the contest I put up in the last chapter is still on, so the one who guesses it stills gets the guest role. Good luck! And like always, please review!**


	6. Serum

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 5- Serum**

_Running…running…_

_Dean recognized the same dream he'd been having for several nights now. He was running through the forest, being chased by a werewolf. Howls emanated from all around him, sending a shivers down his back. Consciously these howls scared the crap out of him, but they seemed to reach something else…something deep down. This lunar music made this thing sing from within him, and suddenly he was filled with a burst of strength. He raced forward, hearing the panting of the beast behind him grow fainter as it lagged behind._

_He soon found himself at the base of a dark lake, the forest silent around him. The only sound was his ragged breaths, cutting blows into the still air. He spun around in circles, searching for a sign of anything ._

_Suddenly, beams of light sliced through the treetops and rained upon the ground. Dean looked up, fearing what came next. The dreams often changed, but this part was always the same._

_The full moon arose past the tree line, hanging in the center of the midnight sky. As its light washed over Dean, he felt his body light on fire. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony. _

_Then, through all the pain, his consciousness faded away into the darkness once more…_

_

* * *

_

With Dean in his arms, Sam followed Artemis as she led them through her house. She beckoned him up the stairs, opening up a large bedroom.

"Put him on the bed," said ordered quite plainly while striping away the thick comforter. Sam followed her command and gently laid his brother's form on the soft mattress.

"So what the hell do we do now?" Sam asked in a forceful tone, glaring at Artemis. With this she stared straight at him, her unnaturally golden eyes sending a strict message; _back off_.

Within seconds her eyes softened slightly, as did her voice, "We're gonna have to wait it out…at least for the moment. He'll be out for another hour or so, so I suggest you get yourself cleaned up."

It was only then that Sam noticed that he himself was covered in blood, presumably from when he had carried Dean. But that blood was the least of his worries.

"You mean all we can do is wait?" he shouted at her, anger written all over his voice, "What the hell are we going to do? What the hell is going to happen when they find that girl's body? How the hell are we going to fix this!"

Artemis simply stared at him through his ranting before she, quite plainly, just strode over toward him and smacked him across the face. Sam stared in surprise, stunned.

"You're going to have to calm down," she said coolly, "The more worked up you get the harder it is going to be to deal with this thing. I have answers to all your questions but you're going to have to take a deep breath and just relax. Like I said, get yourself cleaned up. When you're done, meet me in the kitchen. I have a plan, but I need you calm before we can discuss anything." She gave Sam that stern look once more, and said again, "Get cleaned up, and then we'll talk."

With this she slowly walked out of the room and down the hall. Sam could hear her door slam in the distance, before the old pipes creaked and groaned as he heard the water begin to pour from her bathroom.

Sam stood there in silence for a few moments before he found himself walking toward his own room. He stripped his jacket and threw it onto the floor along his shirt. He stood there in the bathroom, shirtless, staring at his own reflection in the mirror. In hours, everything he had had come crashing down upon him. Dean was slowing becoming a werewolf, and he had already killed somebody.

Turning on the sink faucet, he splashed himself over and over again, watching the blood slowing washing away. His worry seemed to wash away as well, and as he turned the faucet off, only one thing was on his mind. He wanted answers.

* * *

Within in a few minutes, Sam was redressed in a new t-shirt and jeans and was making his way down the stairs. Artemis was already waiting there, dressed in similar clothes, sipping at a hot cup of coffee.

"You told me you had a plan," Sam said apathetically, "What is it?"

She looked up at him with a blank stare before beckoning him to sit down. As he sat and pulled up his chair, she slid another hot cup of coffee over to him. He waved it off, but she pushed it closer, "You need it."

He grudgingly grabbed it and sipped some of it down, feeling himself wake up slightly more so. A few more moments passed before he set his cup down and looked over to Artemis, his object plain to see, "What's the plan?"

She set down her cup as well, taking a deep breath, and looked over at Sam. "I have a theory as to how your brother was infected, but I'll need to test it."

"Sure," was all Sam could say, "Why haven't you tested it yet?"

She gave an uncomfortable squirm for a moment before looking back at Sam, "I'd rather if you got the sample I needed. It's just more…appropriate"

Confusion written over his face, Sam replied, "Why? What do you need.?"

"Well…" she said with an awkward look, "I need a…um…well I need a semen sample…"

"Oh…" Sam said blushing, "Well that's no problem…but why?"

She shifted uncomfortably once more in her seat before she looked back over to Sam, "Remember when I told you that this has happened before? As a way of marking who they want to turn?" Sam nodded in confirmation, "Well I think I was a bit off on that thesis. I think, to put it simply, we've found a new mode of infection. I mean, I think we've basically identified a new STD, a sexually transmitted disease."

"Wait…" Sam trailed off, "You mean he got infected when…."

"Yep. When that werewolf…you know…" she said, avoiding the general subject.

They sat there in silence for a few seconds before Sam spoke up, "So what about the girl's body?"

"They'll think that an animal got to it. No one's gonna to remember anything from last night, so no one will be able to pin her and Dean together," she said, "We're safe on that point."

Artemis avoided Sam's gaze as she spoke this time, unsure of how to say what need ed to be said, "Listen Sam…" He looked up at her, recognizing the pain and guilt written over her face. He figure this was about what happened to his brother, so he looked up at her and grabbed her hand, "What is it?"

She looked up in surprise at Sam's gesture, and the guilt rose inside her again. Her secrets had caused much more harm then she ever intended. If her guess was right…then she'd hurt the only other person that truly cared for anymore. She wouldn't lie any longer…Sam deserved to know that truth…

"Listen Sam," Artemis whispered, looking down, "There's something you need to know."

He looked at her willingly, support written over his face, "You can tell me anything."

His bravery made tears fall down her face in shame, for the pain she may have cost him, "Sam I--"

Suddenly screams erupted from upstairs and both Artemis and Sam tore up the stairs toward Dean's frantic cries. They both slid into the room to find Dean writhing in agony on the bed. Artemis sprang forward and jumped on top of Dean, holding him down.

Struggling, she looked over to Sam, "I need your help!" she shouted over Dean's screams, "Hold him down!"

Sam tried to pin down one of Dean's flailing arms, but was easily thrown half-way across the room like nothing. "I can't hold him!" he shouted back, "He's too strong!"

Sam watched in horror as several of Dean's ribs expanded and pushed against his skin, causing him to scream even louder. With this new wave of pain, Dean tossed Artemis aside and continued to writhe in pain.

"What the hell do we do!" Sam shouted as he ran over to Artemis and help her up.

She suddenly ran out of the room without a word and jumped off the stair ledge, landing on all fours on the floor below. She bolted over the basement, where she ripped open a cabinet to reveal several dozen syringes. Grabbing one, she bolted back out of the basement and up the stairs, tearing back into the room with Dean and Sam.

She held up the needle to Sam, "If I can't get this in him I need you to do it! It'll calm him down!" Sam nodded in agreement and prepared for the worst. Artemis dove onto Dean and attempted to plunge the needle into his chest, but she was thrown back and crashed into a mirror in a flurry of shards. Sam grabbed the needle from where it fell and plunged it into Dean's leg, causing him arch his back in agony, but within a few seconds his screams died down and he fell still onto the bed.

Sam rushed over Artemis and carefully brushed the pieces pf glass off her and lifted her up. She hung onto Sam's shoulder for support as she carefully stood up.

"What the hell was that stuff?" Sam questioned, confusion written over his face, "That didn't look like any tranq I've seen."

Artemis looked up at Sam and brushed him arm off of her. She hobbled over to Dean and retrieved the syringe, "It's a serum I've been developing to deal with the werewolf problem. Its reactions tends to vary, but in most cases it stops the change and other symptoms. Gives the user control of their abilities."

Suddenly a groan from the opposite side of the room caught both their attentions. Dean's form was stirring, and slowly he opened his eyes.

"What the hell happened?" Dean mumbled while rubbing his head, "And why the hell does it feel like I was hit over the head with a shovel?"

Both Sam and Artemis were merely staring at Dean suspiciously, waiting to see his reaction to everything. Dean finally sat up and looked over at the both of them puzzled.

"What the hell happened to you two?" he asked eying their cuts and bruises, "Looks like you two tried to wrestle a bear."

Sam was the first of the two to speak up, being cautious as to what was said, "Um Dean…what's the last thing you remember?"

Dean yawned groggily and tousled his messy hair, "Nothing much…last night's a blur."

Artemis beckoned Sam over as Dean slumped back onto the bed and yawned again. Sam gave a small chuckle, "Well at least his sense of humor's back."

Artemis gave him a stern glare and his smile faded; it was time to get serious. "I think you should tell him what's going on," Artemis whispered, careful to keep out of Dean's ear reach.

"Why should I tell him?" Sam whispered frantically. Artemis gave him another glare before she said with a bit of attitude, "Well, you are his brother."

Sam gave an unsure look before whispering back, "Should we even tell him? I mean, maybe he's forgotten for the better."

"Someone's got to explain it to him before he notices the blood and the claws, cause he ain't gonna be groggy that much longer," she said looking over a Dean, "Just don't go that much into details. Help him get washed, and um…it would be nice to get that sample we talked about earlier…"

"Oh," Sam said shifting uncomfortably, "Okay."

"When you're done, meet me downstairs in the basement. There's a lot of explaining we got to get to," Artemis walked out of them room, leaving Sam looking sadly at his dumbstruck brother.

* * *

Artemis slowly ambled downstairs and into the basements, brushing off the spare pieces of glass that clung to her clothes. Strolling over to the cabinet filled with syringes, she pulled one out. Setting it down, she closed the cabinet back up.

Then, carefully removing the needle cover, she plunged the syringe into her leg.


	7. An Embarrassing Tale

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 6- An Embarrassing Tale **

"Dean…I need to talk to you," were the first words out of Sam's mouth as he walked into the room. Dean, still mildly groggy, looked over at his brother.

"What is it?" Dean mumbled, "And would you mind getting me some aspirin…I got a killer hangover…"

Sam shifted uncomfortably as he tried to find some way to break the truth to his brother, "Well Dean…you don't remember anything about last night?"

"Nope," Dean answered simply, "I remember getting to the bar, ordering a couple of drinks, and that's it. Blank. Why? Did I do some crazy shit I can't remember?"

"Um…sort of," Sam said, "Let's just say something happened last night with the werewolves…"

At this Dean seemed to wake up slightly more so and shifted up from the bed, "What happened?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably once again, unsure of how to word everything, "Well, we might have figured out how a lot of people are getting infected."

Dean anxiously looked at his brother, awaiting his answer, "Well are you gonna tell me or what?"

"I was talking it over with Artemis, and well, we think that the infection can be transferred sexually," Sam said carefully, waiting to see Dean's reaction.

"Okay? So? What does that have to do with…oh…" Dean trailed off. A grave look crossed over his face as he looked at Sam, "What did I do?"

Sam looked at his brother unsurely, but quickly made up his mind. He wouldn't make his brother go through the pain again of knowing he'd killed somebody. It'd been bad enough watching it earlier, but he couldn't go through it again, "No one. You didn't hurt anybody."

"Then what happened?" Dean's face was hard as a rock, unreadable.

"A girl was attacked…but it wasn't you. You just started acting schitzo and then…well…" Sam looked Dean over and Dean finally caught on, examining his own hands.

Dean's look was both solemn and unreadable, leaving Sam unsure of how Dean was reacting to the news. Looking over at Sam, Dean asked, quite plainly, "Where did the blood come from?"

"You ended up attacking the werewolf," Sam responded quickly; he couldn't let Dean know that half of what he was being told was lie.

Dean chuckled slightly, "Damn well! I should've ripped that bitch to shreds huh?" A few seconds later his smile faded and he turned away to avoid Sam's gaze.

Sam couldn't take it, seeing his brother like this. It was too painful. Dean had spent his life killing monsters like this, and now he'd just found out he was going to become one. Dean had always been there for him ,and this was Sam's turn.

"We're gonna fix this Dean, don't worry about it," Sam mumbled, trying to hold back the tears that were already starting to form, "We can fix it."

"You can't fix this Sam," was all that came of out Dean's mouth. He had such a solemn look on his face, it was killing Sam, "There is no cure."

"But Artemis has this thing, this drug, it can help you control it," Sam pleaded, "You don't have to be like the others."

Dean looked up hopefully at this, sign of happiness shining in his eyes, "A drug?"

Sam nodded in agreement, "I don't know much about it, but from the sound of it I think it can."

Dean smiled a bit more before he suddenly looked away, an expression of shame apparent, "Oh god…what am I going to tell Dad…"

"Don't worry about Dad," Sam said with a look of anger of his face, "He doesn't have to know. And it doesn't matter anyway. We'll take care of this. Just get cleaned up and meet me and Artemis downstairs. We'll talk it all over then."

Dean looked over at Sam hopefully, before giving a sharp nod of his head. Sam walked out of the room, ambling down the stairs and into the basement silently. He found Artemis closing up a cabinet in the far corner, oblivious to his presence.

"It's done," he said, causing Artemis to jump slightly.

She gave a small smile as she turned around laughing, "Man, you scared the hell out of me. Almost gave me a heart attack."

"Like anything could actually scare you," Sam said with a chuckle.

Artemis beamed with pride shortly before, her smile faded and a serious look crossed over her face, "How'd he take it?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably as he tried to find the way to tell her the truth, "Well…I lied…"

A stupendous look lit up her face, "You what!"

"I had to!" Sam yelled in response, "He couldn't know that he killed that girl."

She seemed to calm down a bit more, taking a deep breath, "Then what did you tell him?"

"I told him we ran into some werewolves. They attacked a girl, and he went crazy and attacked them. That's it, plain and simple," Sam's eyes glared into Artemis'. This was the story he'd told his brother, and he was sticking to it.

She gave him a stern glare before relaxing a bit, "Okay." They stood in silence for a moment before a comprehensive look crossed over Artemis' face, "Did you get the sample I asked for?"

Sam shook his head, "I didn't feel it was the right time to ask. We don't need the sample anyway. It's sort of obvious that the infection can be transferred sexually, at least in Dean's case."

"True," she said, shaking her head in agreement.

All of a sudden a large bang issued from the upstairs bathroom as well as an "Oh shit!", causing both Sam and Artemis to look up in confusion. They both wandered out slowly into the hall, staring up the stairs.

"Everything all right Dean?" Sam shouted, his worry apparent.

They heard some more shuffling upstairs before a small, meek voice reached their ears, "Everything's fine! Um…do you guys have any scissors?"

Sam and Artemis glanced at each other in confusion before looking back up the stairs. Artemis signaled Sam to followed as she crept up the stairs, "Sure Dean! What'd you need them for?"

As they drew into the room, Dean's voice echoed once again from behind the bathroom door, "Just give me the goddamn scissors!"

Artemis shrugged her shoulders as she looked over to Sam, who shared the same expression. She opened a draw, drew some scissors, and walked over to the door, "I'm sliding them under, so be careful!" Bending down slightly, she slid them under the door, where they both heard them snatched up quickly.

"Remember, meet us downstairs when you're done!" Artemis shouted at the door, which stayed silent. She followed Sam as he walked out the door, bursting with anticipation.

The minute them got back down to the basement, she burst out laughing, "What the hell was that about?"

Sam gave her an awkward look, "That didn't sound like him. He sounded …weird."

"He sounded embarrassed if you ask me," she said, giving a small chuckle, "The only thing is, I wonder what it was that he was embarrassed about."

"Well, I'll ask him what that was about later," Sam said with a smile. Within seconds however, it faded away. Everything had come crashing down in the last couple of hours. It hadn't had time to hit him directly yet. Dean was infected, and then there was still that question as to what had exactly happened last night with Artemis. That was one issue that had yet to be addressed.

Sam looked over a Artemis with a grim look, "Listen Artemis…about what happened last night…"

At this, her face drained of all color. She pulled her eyes away from Sam and sulked slightly, her head hanging, "What about it?" she asked meekly.

"What happened…it…was a mistake," he said with a somber expression.

"A…mistake…?" she mumbled. Her head arose and Sam was immediately sorry for what he'd said; tears were streaming down her face in torrents.

He could truly see the hurt in her eyes. Taking a few steps forward, he wrapped his arms around her. She buried her head in his shoulder as her arms slid around him. Sam rubbed her head sincerely, his voice full of apology, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it that way…"

His arms hugged her more tightly, and she followed with the same embrace. Sam really did feel for her; he did. He was just afraid of what might happen to her. It wasn't like the women in his life had a good track record with staying alive. First that demon took his mother, and then it took Jessica. He didn't want to risk it happening to Artemis too. He loved her too much, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

"I don't want you getting hurt…" he whispered in her ear, holding her close. Her low sobs grew weaker until they finally stopped, and he felt her head shift slightly. "I won't," she said in a strong voice, full of passion, "I don't want to let this go…"

Sam could feel his eyes tearing up too, no matter how much tried to hold it back, "I don't want to let this go either…" he trailed off, "…but I couldn't take it if you got hurt because of me…"

Artemis slowly pulled away from their embrace and looked Sam straight in the eyes, her face full of fierceness, "We'll find a way to work this out…we have to." Sam nodded in agreement and he held her close once again.

Then, when they both heard the door up stairs creak up, they broke apart quickly. They couldn't let Dean see them this way. Both Sam and Artemis wiped away what tears were left and straightened up, preparing themselves for their confrontation with Dean. They heard his footsteps echo slowly down the stairs, and then continue down the hall, but they stopped close to the basement doorway.

Both Sam and Artemis looked at each other suspiciously, but then Sam summed up the courage to speak, "Are you coming in Dean?"

They both heard his feet shuffle from behind the wall beside the doorway, and then he voice spoke to them meekly, "Listen, just promise me you won't laugh…this is humiliating enough…"

They both glanced at each other again in confusion and nodded, "You can come in Dean," Artemis said, "We promise we won't laugh."

A few seconds later, they heard Dean's footsteps approach the door, and they both tensed up in anticipation. What was this thing that Dean was so embarrassed about? When Dean walked through the door, they both had to fight back fits of laughter.

Dean stood in the door, blushing, a furry tail wagging anxiously behind him.


	8. The Big Picture

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 7- The Big Picture**

Dean could see the laughter in their faces that they were holding back and gave an angry glare, "This isn't funny guys!" His tail seemed to mirror his emotion as it gave a violent swish and stood on end.

Artemis finally burst out laughing and clapped her hands over her mouth, trying to hold the hilarity back. Sam finally succeeded in chocking his back, and tried to look at Dean with a serious look on his face.

Dean pouted for a second before turning to Artemis, "You know, " he said, "You owe me a new pair of jeans."

At this she burst out laughing once more, unable to hold herself back anymore. After a few moments her laughter finally died away and she looked at Dean with a wide smile, "Sure, don't worry about it. I'll get you a new pair…" she then gave a wide grin, "Is that a pair with or without a hole in the back for that cute little tail?"

Dean gave her another angry glare before take a few steps forward and calming down. Then he looked back over to Artemis, "So Sammy here," he motioned over to Sam with his head, who cringed slightly at the sound of his old nickname, "Tells me you got some kind of miracle drug that can help."

"Well yes," she said, straightening her face, "but it's complicated."

"Tell us about this stuff," Sam said, "What the hell does it do? How did you get it?"

She took a deep breath before hoisting herself onto the table and sitting on it, "That serum is a irradiated complex bio-protein derived from an unfiltered strain of the werewolf virus."

Both Dean and Sam gave her a look of tremendous confusion before both mumbling, "Huh?" She gave a small chuckle at this.

"Sorry, I forget I'm not at college anymore," a smile lighting up her face, "I didn't have a major back at college, but most of my classes centered around biochemistry. It's all thanks to that that I was able to make that stuff."

Comprehension slid over both of their faces but Sam was the first to speak up, "So you made it?"

She nodded in confirmation, "Yeah, but it wasn't easy," she gave a small chuckle, "Let me see if I can explain a bit. What do you guys know about werewolves?"

"They follow the lunar cycle," Sam said in response, followed by Dean who said, "And they change on the three days of the full moon."

Artemis gave a small nod before saying, "Well…yes and no. You're half right."

"Why?" Sam asked, "What don't we know?"

She took another deep breath, "Well, yes, they do change on the three days of the full moon; the actual day of the full moon as well as the two days surrounding it, but they've been keeping a very big secret about part of that. It seems that on the two days surrounding the full moon, the change is voluntary, not forced. They can choose whether or not they want to change."

"They can?" Dean mumbled, "How come no one's ever known about this?"

"Apparently because it's one of their closest kept secrets. They often use that as their trump card to prove to others that they're not werewolves. Because, not only is the change voluntary on those two days, they can also control the other werewolf aspects that they normally can't hide. Like that tail," she said, pointing over at Dean's tail, "On those two days they can appear completely human."

"Shit," Dean spat, "That means we're in big trouble. The first day of the full moon is tomorrow. We won't be able to tell who is what."

"I know," Artemis said, "But anybody who's been infected since the last full moon won't change until the actual full moon, two days from now."

Dean gave Artemis a nervous glance, "Will that happen to me?" He looked over to Sam, who gave him the same nervous look.

"Can we stop it from happening to Dean?" Sam questioned, his voice full of worry.

Artemis gave a slight smile, "Not if I can help it. As long we keep injecting your brother with that serum, he may or may not change, it depends."

"Depends on what?" he asked.

"Well," she said, "It depends on you; your will. It's all part of what that serum is."

"And what exactly is it?" asked Sam, "And please explain it in a way that we'll understand."

She gave a slight nod, "I was coming to that. To understand I just needed you to get caught up about the two full moon days. You see, on those two days, the moon is just full enough to allow them to change, but not strong enough to actually force the change. All I did, was try to harness that."

She got up and walked over to a small cupboard, pulling out several vials and a small micro-scope looking machine, "In this," she held up one of the vials, "Is the purest form of the virus. Usually the virus is mutated into a special strain depending on the werewolf it comes from, but I was able to isolate it in its purest form. Using this," she motioned over to the micro-scope, "I used a special type of magnetic radiation, similar to that caused by the moon, and irradiated the virus. By injecting that combination, the serum I gave Dean before, it makes a werewolf's cells react in the same manner they would during the those days surrounding the full moon. As long as the serum stays in affect, the user has voluntary control over their abilities."

"What happens if you inject more than one of those things," Dean asked, "That serum?"

"Well here's the thing," she said, "The more you inject yourself, the more voluntary it is."

Sam gave a confused look, "But isn't that a good thing? Why not just pump yourself full of the stuff?"

"Aha," she said with emphasis, "There's a catch. You see, while it becomes more voluntary, it also apparently becomes more tied to your emotions. Meaning, large bursts of emotion can also trigger the change. Plus, at a certain point, if you take enough of the stuff it can cause an instantaneous change."

"So basically shoot up enough of the stuff and you're screwed?" Dean asked, "What's the limit? How many can you take before that happens?"

"Takes one or two, and your good. Three seems to push it to the point where most things can set it off. Four seems be the limit," she said calmly.

Suddenly a thought came to Sam, "Well what happens if a human shoots up on that?"

A grave look crossed over Artemis' face at this and she looked down, "Humans can't take it."

"Why?" asked Sam, "What happens?"

"They become infected," was all she said for a moment, "The virus in the serum bonds with their DNA and creates a new strand."

Everyone was silent for a moment, but then Dean spoke up, "What the hell do you mean by strands? What does that have to do with anything?"

"You mean you guys don't know?" she said, finally glancing up.

Sam and Dean both looked at her curious wondering what she was talking about. They'd known their share about werewolves, and they thought the whole 'full moon' secret was the only thing they'd been out of the loop on. What else were they in the dark about?

"What don't we know?" asked Sam, finally speaking up.

Artemis was shocked. She thought that they'd know more, their father being so infamous and all as the best out there. But apparently even a few things escaped the great John Winchester. Besides, he did never really focus on anything besides killing those damn things.

"Well those strains I was talking about are very important," she said with a serious look, "Because the knowing the specific strain that Dean has is the key to helping him…"

Dean gave her a curious look, "Helping me how?"

"Those strains…" she trailed off, giving a sly smile, "…are part of the cure."


	9. Bloodlines

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 8- Bloodlines**

Dean had to do a double take when he heard Artemis' words. _'There's a cure?'_ he thought to himself, _'But Dad said…'_ Their father had always told them the werewolves and vampires were one of the most dangerous things that were out there, because while they could make you like them, there was no cure. If what she said was true, then they _could_ fix this. But the question now was, was their father right, as he always was, or was he wrong?

"There can't be a cure," Dean said strongly, looking over to Sam, "Our Dad told us."

Artemis shook her head in denial. Once again, John had proven what ignorance spawns, "Your father was wrong, plain and simple," she answered quite plainly, "Your father never really cared to find out the specifics of these kind of things. He cared about curing these things just about as much as centuries of hunters that I've found out about. All they cared for was killing the damn things."

Sam could see the look that crossed over Dean's face the moment Artemis had discredited their father. If their was one thing he knew to never do in front of his brother, it was insult their father. Dean looked ready to explode, but Sam was careful to cut in before he was able to, "So what is this cure, and how did you find out about it? What does it have to do with those strains you were mentioning earlier?"

"Lemme see if there's an easy way to explain this…" she said, taking a deep breath. Not only did she have to try to say everything in a way that they'd understand, but she had to be careful in what she said. They couldn't know about her…problem…just yet. Until she was sure that it had caused what she thought it might have, she wouldn't say anything. Keeping it silent would just make it easier.

Gathering her thoughts, she proceeded to explain, "You see, shortly after I got out of the hospital, when I realized that they were still here, I left for Europe."

At this, both the brothers gave her an incredulous look. Dean was the first to speak up however, "What the hell do you mean _you left_?" he questioned harshly, "You turned your back on everyone here and _left_?"

Artemis took another deep breath, "I had to. And I wasn't--" she said, cutting Dean off as his temper started flaring again, "--turning my back on anyone. I left so I could find out what I was truly up against. You see, American mythology doesn't heavily concentrate of werewolves. Us, as a country, are amateurs when it comes to dealing with werewolves. So I went to the one place that wasn't an amateur, Romania.

"You see, Romania's been dealing with werewolves for nearly a dozen centuries longer than anywhere here in America. As far as I've found out, werewolves actually came here from Europe less than two centuries ago, so it was no wonder that we have hardly any info and experience dealing with them. So I left to investigate things over there."

"And what did you find out?" Sam asked, trying to spur on an answer. She still hadn't explained anything about a cure nor what it had to do with anything she'd mentioned before.

"I was getting to that," she said, shaking him off, "As I was saying, I went over to Romania. In the end I hooked up with one of the native gypsy clans, and they're the ones that told me about everything. I was lucky I found them too. They were one of the only people that knew about the cure. It had been passed down through their generations as one of their family remedies.

"Now," she said, looking directly at Sam and Dean, "This is where the strains I was talking about earlier come in. These strains, think of them like bloodlines. You see, when I was going through the gypsy's records and everything, one ritual kept popping up."

Artemis got up suddenly and walked over to a small bookcase in the corner, sliding out a thick and dusty leather-bound book off the shelf. She walked back and hopped onto her previous seat. This was the one thing that held all the answers they needed; the one thing that could help them.

As she unclipped the large belt around the book and forced it open, the acrid small of old parchment sliced through the air. After flipping through a couple of pages, she finally stopped. Balancing the large book on her leg as she held it open, she turned it around to face Sam and Dean, pointing to a small diagram on one of the pages written in some illegible language.

Both brothers narrowed their eyes as they strained to understand the faded artwork. It seemed to depict some person soaking his weapons in some liquid; the picture beside it depicted the same person using said weapons to kill some large beast, which was presumably a werewolf.

"And what exactly are we supposed to be looking at?" Dean asked, his tone full of sarcasm. He understood the pictures easily enough, but he was still confused on what this had to do with this cure she'd been mentioning.

Artemis, still holding up the book, responded by pointing at the picture of the weapons in the liquid, "In this picture, the 'infected' hunter is soaking his weapons in his own blood. I kept seeing this same ritual popping up in several manuscripts, so I asked the gypsies what it meant. They told me about an old poem that was the basis of this ritual, that held the cure:

'_Blood of son to slay its father  
__Mother slain by blood of daughter  
__Only then will thy be free  
__Destroy what's given birth to thee'_

According to these diagrams in connection with that rhyme, it seems to imply that the blood of an infected person must be used to kill their maker," she spoke with a sense of finality.

Sam and Dean stood in silence for a few seconds while they absorbed the information that Artemis had given them. They understood everything easily enough, but she still hadn't explained what these 'strains' had to do with anything.

"Well," Sam piped up, "I think I can say for the both of us that we get the whole blood ritual thing--" Dean nodded in agreement, "--but you still haven't explained what these 'strains' you mentioned before have to do with anything."

Artemis gave a sigh of annoyance; they still didn't get it, "Like I said before, think of the strains as being like bloodlines, which is basically what they are. When a person becomes infected, they receive the same strand of the werewolf virus as the werewolf that infected them, and so down the line, from infected to infected. The only time a new strand is created, is when a werewolf is either born infected, meaning one of their parents was a werewolf, or when a person becomes cursed into a werewolf. Also, it seems my little serum can be added to that list. Since it's made from a pure form of the werewolf virus, it lack any distinguishing strains but can create one when it bonds with an uninfected human."

Sam nodded his head, finally connecting all of this information together. It now made perfect sense, "So that rhyme you mentioned before, it doesn't necessarily mean to kill the re werewolf that infected you, does it?"

Artemis smiled, giving him a confirming look. Dean however, looked completely lost. If it didn't mean killing the werewolf that infected you, then what did it mean?

Sam noticed Dean's confusing, and looked over at him to explain, "From what I can tell Dean, then it means we have to kill the progenitor of your line, basically the werewolf that's at the top of your bloodline…its creator."

Dean nodded his head in agreement, but then a thought hit him, a major one, "But wait," he interjected, "What happens if you don't kill this 'progenitor' of your bloodline? You stay a werewolf?"

A frown crossed over Artemis' face as she gave Dean a grave look, "Yeah," she replied sadly, "That's the only downside," she looked down and she hung her head, "That, and the fact that you're screwed if he's already dead."

At this, a grim looked crossed over Sam's face. What if this progenitor of Dean's line was already dead? That would mean Dean would be stuck that way forever. Sam knew that he had no problem with Dean being a werewolf, he was his brother, and nothing was going to change that…but their father was another story. Dean had been right when he'd questioned their father's reaction to this problem, because even though Sam had told Dean not to think about it, it was going to be a big issue for them. Dean looked up to their dad, and the thought of their father's disappointment would crush him. They had to fix this…for Dean's sake.

"So how are we going to do this?" Sam asked in a sorrowful tone, his mind still heavy with the thoughts of their father, "How are supposed to find this guy?"

"Not a guy," Artemis said strongly, a look of determination suddenly shining in her eyes, "The only link we have…is_ her_…"

Dean knew who Artemis meant the minutes those words came out of her mouth…_her_…she was going to pay for what she'd done to him. Dean would make sure that she paid…big time. For one of the first time in days, a strong smile lit up his face, "Let's go get that bitch…"


	10. The Golden Stare

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 9- The Golden Stare**

Within an hour, everything was ready. Artemis and the brothers had loaded their weapons and gathered their resources, preparing themselves to take this thing on. Artemis had even come up with a revolutionary way to use Dean's blood in the way the cure legends specified. With a hell of a lot of squirming and an ass load of complaints, they finally managed to hold Dean down long enough to prick his finger and get a few drops of blood. Then, in this 'revolutionary' way, Artemis simply mixed Dean's blood into her home-made blend of silver bullets. It seemed, through Artemis' explanation, that werewolves _were _allergic to silver. Maybe not enough to make them scream in pain, but just enough to severely slow down their advanced healing abilities and therefore kill them with a fatal shot. With these special silver bullets in hand, each bullet meant a chance to cure Dean, and the minute this was done, they were ready.

Artemis sat in the kitchen, several guns holstered over form. She was waiting up for Dean and Sam to finish gathering their stuff, but in the meanwhile her mind wandered onto answers unknown.

She thought back to three months ago, when she learned the terrible truth…the truth she was now trying to fix. She'd woken up to find herself infected; a werewolf. The question was, had she infected Sam? Neither of them knew how far the other night had gone, so to Artemis the question still lingered. Had she infected Sam? Or had they stopped before they got too far, sparing him from her curse? She didn't want to say anything, before she was sure. All these boys needed were to find out that she'd been lying to them from the beginning, keeping secrets.

Her hand gravitated to the bag she'd packed earlier, presently resting on the table in front of her. She cracked open one of the pockets, just enough to peek inside. Good, she'd remembered to pack the serums. She knew Dean and she might need them, Dean being due for another dose in about three hours, but the spares were for Sam. If any symptoms for the infection were going to show up, they'd be rearing their ugly head soon. With less than two days till the full moon, the symptoms always presented faster. With Dean, it'd taken a little less than a week to present, and that was over a week before the full moon. With the full moon now merely two days away, Sam's symptoms would present themselves soon…very soon. If they didn't show by midnight tonight at the latest, then they were in the clear. If they did…then that was an entirely different story. She'd have to tell them everything, which was definitely something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

Sam was still in his room, just putting the finishing touches into his duffel bag. With the usual assortment of daggers, knives, and guns, he felt fairly prepared. He finished by zipping up his bag, and then he ambled over to bathroom a few feet away. He shut the door behind, turning on the hot water in the sink before him.

Everything had come crashing down in the last couple of hours, everything. Sam splashed the steaming water over his face, reveling in the relaxation it brought. As he wiped some of excess water off his face, he looked at his own reflection.

The same old Sam stared back at him…but something was different. Sam couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something unrecognizable within his reflection. Maybe it was just the exhaustion, cause, well, to be honest he did look like a piece of shit. Dark bags sagged beneath his eyes, and his skin looked pale and sickly. Come to think of it, he had been feeling sick all day. He felt….drained. Like something was sucking the life out of him, making him weaker each minute.

He just shrugged it off; the stress must have been getting to him. Taking a deep breath, he exited the bathroom, grabbing his duffel and then jogging down the stairs. As he walked into the kitchen, he found Artemis sitting there simply staring into space. He dropped his duffel on the table next to hers, breaking her train of thought. She looked at him surprised.

"Sorry," she gave a quiet chuckle, "I didn't hear you come down." A somber expression returned as she looked away from Sam's gaze.

Sam saw the look on her face, and just knew that something was wrong. He didn't know how he knew, he just…did. He could sense it, "What's wrong?" he asked.

Once again, Sam broke her train of thought. Her eyes dull and empty, she looked over at Sam, forcing a smile that didn't match her face, "Nothing…" was all she said, trailing off. There was just so much on her mind…focusing on anything was becoming hard, "Everything's just so overwhelming."

She felt guilty, with Sam sitting right there next to her. If she had infected him, she'd ruined his life. At least with Dean they had a connection, a paper trail to follow. They knew who'd infected Dean, and hopefully, once they found Sanja, they'd get some answers. But with her it was a an entirely different story. She'd woken up from her coma infected, so there was no paper trail for her. No clues, no…nothing.

Sam could tell by her reaction that she was hiding something from him, something that was troubling her. He couldn't tell what it was, but his senses seemed to scream of its importance.

Before he could question her however, Dean strode into the room, dropping his bag as well on the table before them. His tail wagged anxiously behind him.

"Let's get going Sammy," Dean spoke with a sense of restless determination. Sam cringed at the sound of his much hated nickname, glaring at Dean, "It's Sam."

Dean merely gave him that same smart ass grin that he always did, his tail mimicking his emotions and wagging happily, "It's just a nickname Sammy, lighten up," he grinned wider. Then he looked over to Artemis, "So how are we supposed to find her?" his determined facade had reappeared once again, his tail now still, "Cause I have no idea where to even start looking."

Artemis looked up at him, a sense of purpose about her, "Actually," she said lightheartedly, "You do."

Dean gave her a puzzled look. How the hell was he supposed to know where she was? It's not like he stuck a tracking device up her ass the last time he'd seen her.

Artemis could tell by the look of Dean's face that he didn't know what she meant, so she went on to explain, "You can track her," she explained, "Since she was the one that infected you, you two share a bond. You'll be able to recognize her easily by her scent, because she'll seem like family, like pack."

Dean just continued with the same confused expression, "Huh?" He had no idea what Artemis was trying to tell him.

She just shook her head in annoyance; man Dean had a hard ass head. She took a deep breath, "Just follow me outside," she grabbed her bag and walked out the back door, waiting for the two Winchesters to follow.

Within a few seconds, they'd dumped their bags in the back of Artemis' pick-up, with the exception of Artemis who was rummaging through her bag looking for something. She still hadn't explained anything to Dean, who by now was starting to get annoyed by her silence.

Artemis grumbled to herself, "I know I brought it in here…" she continued to tear through the stuff until she finally pulled out a small scarf, "Aha! Found it."

Sam just gave her an awkward look, "Found what exactly?" he questioned, "A scarf? What does that have to do with anything?"

Artemis merely tossed the scarf over to Dean, who easily caught it, "What the hell am I supposed to do with this? Cause I'm sure as hell not wearing it." Sam chuckled at Dean's response; he was still the same old Dean Sam had always known. It seemed that would never change.

She glared at Dean's response, but chose to ignore it, "Smell it," she pointed at the scarf. The scarf had belonged to Sanja, and it carried her scent. Artemis could have easily tracked her if she'd wanted to, put for at the moment she had to keep her heightened abilities a secret. After all, it would hardly seem believable to pretend that she was still human after she'd smelt someone out simply by one of their belongings. Even though Dean's abilities weren't as well developed as hers, he'd have to do for the moment.

"You want me to sniff it?" Dean look at her incredulously. Why the hell did she want him to sniff the damn scarf? She gave him a commanding glare, causing him to roll his eyes. He brought the scarf to his nose, and look a strong whiff. Immediately a powerful and musky smell filled him, sending a wave of familiarity through him. This scent…he recognized it somehow. It was…familiar…

Sam gazed over at Dean with a worried look, wondering what was going through is head. He had an odd look on his face, causing Sam to question it, "What is it?"

Dean ignored Sam's question and glanced over at Artemis, "It's hers isn't it?" Sam looked at the both of them, lost in the subject matter. When Artemis gave a slight nod, realization finally hit Sam.

"That belongs to Sanja, doesn't it?" Sam was almost sure of the answer but he asked anyway. Artemis didn't even have to nod her head; Sam could tell by the look on both Dean's and her face that it did.

Artemis glanced back over to Dean, "Now you can find her."

Dean brought the scarf back up to his nose, taking a few more sniffs. Once he was sure he had the scent memorized, he stuffed the scarf into his back pocket, "Got it. Let's go."

As he turned around to open the car, suddenly the same familiar scent hit his nose. He spun around, trying to decipher it's source. She was here…somewhere.

Artemis noticed Dean's reaction, and spun to face where he was looking. She'd expected Sanja to be keeping a close eye on them, but not this close. Concentrating on the smells around her, she tried to pinpoint the familiar scent that she despised to dearly. Dean may have been new to this ability, but after months of intense training, she was more than able to find decipher what he could not.

Her eyes fell upon a small shadow hidden in the treetops, definitely not recognizable by human eyes. In less than a second, she had her gun pointed to the very spot her eyes were focused so closely upon, "You can come out now," she spat.

Sam was lost in all of this, but the minute Artemis pulled her gun out, he understood. In fact, it shocked the hell out of him. One second she was just standing there, and then the next, with speed that no normal person should have had, she stood there with her weapon trained on the tree line.

As quickly as she had pulled her weapon, a shadow streaked out of the trees, landing about a yard or two in front of them. As the shadow rose from its crouched position, it finally became visible. It was her.

"I knew you'd finally realize I was here," Sanja said with a toothy smile.

Dean couldn't believe his eyes. She just stood there in front of them, grinning like there was no problem in the world. This was the bitch that had ruined his life, and she _smiling_ about it. A wave of anger rose inside of him, sending a surge of strength through his body.

Dean flung himself forward, sprinting toward Sanja. She was going to pay for what she'd done to him, he was going to make sure of it. Instinctually he pulled his clawed hand back, preparing to strike as he got closer.

Artemis watched in horror as Dean sprung forward in rage, attempting to attack Sanja. Dean had just come into his abilities, he was no match for a full fledged werewolf while he was unarmed. She kept her gun trained on Sanja, preparing for the worst. They couldn't kill Sanja, or they'd lose the trail to curing Dean. That meant she had to be careful where she shot, or else everything could be over.

Sam was definitely lost in the transaction. One second he saw Dean standing there, the next he was a blur speeding toward the werewolf before them. Was shocked him the most was the speed at which Dean was running. He was just so used to human Dean, that seeing him like this was so shocking. He was just so…fast.

As Dean drew close, Sanja merely smiled wider, amused. This hunter was a joke, but she'd play with him as long as she had the chance. When he was but a few inches from her, she struck with lightening fast precision.

Before Dean knew it, Sanja had wheeled around, placing a well aimed kick straight into his gut. He felt himself go flying back, Sam calling out his name, then colliding hard with the damp earth. A strong burning sensation lingered in his chest as he attempted to push himself up, restricting his breath. He could tell that at least a couple of his ribs were cracked, but within seconds, the pain seemed to dissipate. As Dean's hand slid over his chest, he felt no tenderness, not even pain. They were completely healed. This new healing ability was a bit shocking, but definitely a plus. Now that was something he could live with.

Sam called out to Dean the minute Sanja had struck him, at the same time drawing his weapon. She'd been so quick, it was almost a complete blur. If this was what it meant to take on werewolves, then he was actually worried. He stared at Sanja angrily over the barrel of his gun, Dean's easy defeat fresh in his mind, "What the hell do you want with us?" he yelled at her, his anger building.

Sanja merely smiled at his, her amusement apparent, "Well I'm just here for a little fun," when she smiled this time, her teeth had become slightly feral, giving her a creepy maniacal appearance.

Sam felt his rage creeping up on him, taking over. This bitch was toying with them. Everything she'd been doing to them, was simply out of _fun_. She'd probably ruined the rest of Dean's life…for _fun_…Sam just couldn't take it anymore. His rage just kept rising, his grip around his gun growing tighter and tighter just to keep himself from snapping completely. She was going to pay; this bitch was going to pay. He wanted to tear her to pieces…to rip her to shreds…

Artemis watched this whole ordeal in silence, her eyes never leaving Sanja. It appeared as if Sanja was watching Sam closely after he'd questioned her. She saw her face flinch slightly, as if surprised by something she saw in Sam. Artemis saw this small change, and curiosity began to fill her. What did she see?

Then Sanja simply laughed, surprising Artemis. As if Sanja had read the curiosity on her mind, she turned to face Artemis. She grinned once again, highly amused, "Wow Art, never thought you had it in you," she chuckled slightly.

Artemis was still confused by Sanja's response, but Sanja seemed to enjoy her confusion even more. What seemed to amuse her so much? Sanja seemed to grow bored momentarily with her confusion, and as if she was trying to show Artemis the answer, she gave Sam a quick glance.

Artemis caught on, and slowly glanced over at Sam, dread beginning to build within her. When her eyes fell upon the center of Sanja's attention, her heart dropped.

Sam stood there, his gun pointed at Sanja, his eyes shining an unearthly gold.


	11. Numb

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 10- Numb**

Artemis couldn't believe her eyes. As Sam simply stood there, gun pointed and teeth gritted, his eyes shined gold with hate. Her fears had come true; she'd ruined the life of the only person she truly cared for anymore.

Sam stared down the werewolf before him with true malice. This was the bitch that had ruined his brother's life, the one that made his brother a monster. She was going to pay, he was going to make sure of it. He felt a strength growing within him, feeding off his rage. Whatever this strength was, he was going to use it to make her pay. He felt another wave of rage wash over him, and the strength within him grew.

Artemis watched in horror as Sam, who seemed completely focused on Sanja, gripped his gun even harder. She could see the metal of the handle begin bend under his grip, submitting to his newfound strength. Another small gasp escaped her mouth as her horror was furthered; Sam's nails began to lengthen themselves in claws.

Dean watched suspiciously as a small exchange in glances occurred between Artemis and Sanja. Whatever they seemed to be saying to each other, Dean couldn't understand it. Sanja's comment from earlier was still fresh in his mind; did it have anything to do with this? She mentioned something that Artemis did, something that Sanja never thought Artemis would do. But what could that be? What could Artemis do that Sanja had never expected? Then he remembered the glance Sanja had given Sam after that comment. Did this mean Artemis had something to Sam?

As Dean glanced over at Sam, his heart nearly stopped. He saw the look of horror on Artemis' face, the fear that emanated from her as he looked upon the same source. Sam just stood there, oblivious to what everyone else saw in him. His brother was infected, like him.

Suddenly everything made sense to dean, everything. Artemis' weird behavior, the stockpile of serum she always kept, her extensive knowledge; Artemis' had been a werewolf from the start.

"Sam…" Dean called out his brother's name, hoping to get through to him. He had to warn his brother.

Sam could hear his brother calling out to him, but Dean's voice just seemed so far away to him. The only thing on his mind was killing Sanja, that was it. He had to kill her. The smile on her face just seemed to egg the feeling on even more.

"Come on," Sanja said, breaking the silence, "Go ahead, shoot me." She knew the this young hunter was just coming into his abilities. With any luck, she'd fall right into the trap she was planning. All she needed for this trap, was for him to pull the trigger.

Sam just couldn't take it anymore. Against the protests that seemed to scream from the depths of his mind, he pulled the trigger. The gunshot seemed to echo in his ears a thousand times louder than normal, causing him to drop his gun and cover his ears in pain. What the hell was going on?

Sanja smiled the moment the roar of the gun reached her ears. She knew the hunter, with his new heightened sense of hearing, would be deafened by the sound of the gun, giving her a chance to attack. When the hunter covered his ears in pain, she jetted toward him, poised for attack.

Artemis could see the look of comprehension over Dean's face and knew, Dean had figured out the truth. When Sam finally squeezed the trigger, she knew she had to act. Sanja would use this opportunity to attack Sam. Now that Dean knew what she was, it was pointless to jeopardize everything by simply trying to hide her secret.

She gave Dean a look that spoke, quite clearly, _'I'm protecting him,'_ and then, without another thought, she took action.

At almost lightening fast speed, she raced toward Sam, grabbing him seconds before she could feel Sanja take a swipe at his throat. By that time, Sanja had already dodged Sam's bullet and had then proceeded to rip his throat out. But that wouldn't happen as long as Artemis was around.

With one burst of strength, Artemis flung Sam over her shoulder at Dean, "Take him! I've got her!" she yelled despite the chaos surrounding her. In her distraction, she felt Sanja's claws collide with her face, ripping three parallel slashes into her cheek while sending her flying.

Artemis twisted her body around in midair, allowing herself her land on all fours when she collided with the ground. The slashes burned in her cheek momentarily before she could feel the pain begin to faded, the wound healing itself. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

Dean couldn't believe his eyes. It seemed like everything happened in slow motion before it all just turned into a blur. Sam fired the gun, then fell down in pain. Artemis glared right at him, sending him her clear message. Then everything just turned into a blur. He heard Artemis yell at him, and the next thing he knew Sam almost landed right on top of him. By the time he'd whipped his head over to look at Artemis, she was several feet away, crouching on all fours with three large gashes in her cheek. He watched, with the same awe he'd felt earlier, as the gashes healed up before his eyes. So she was a werewolf.

Sam was definitely lost in all this mess. First that pain…why had the gunshot been so loud? Then he felt himself snatched up off his feet, something he didn't even think possible. He could have sworn he could a glimpse of the person that grabbed him, but he must have been wrong. Well, he had to be. Artemis couldn't move that fast and be that strong…could she?

Next thing he knew, Sam found himself in a heap on top of Dean, who seemed to be following the events occurring behind Sam's back. Sam pivoted his head just in time to see the cuts on Artemis' face heal themselves, and then he knew. It all made sense. Her behavior, his recent health concerns, the loud echo of the bullet; it all made sense. She'd infected him.

"I see you've gotten stronger Art," Sanja said with a wicked smile, standing there as if nothing had happened. Artemis merely scowled at this.

Standing up, Artemis glared at Sanja, her eyes shining gold, "You're gonna pay," she spat, "You're gonna pay for everything you've done." Sanja had been the one to betray her all those years ago, the one that helped ruin her life. Now she'd succeeded in doing the same thing to Dean. Artemis was going to make sure that she didn't ruin anybody else's life.

Sanja merely smiled wider, "Oohhh!" she gave a melodramatic shake of her hands, "I'm sooo scared." If this was the best Artemis had for her, then she sure as hell wasn't worried.

That was it. Artemis was tired as hell of this shit. Tired of holding back, tired of keeping secrets, tired of watching as she ruined the lives of everyone around her; she was tired of everything. She took off sprinting, streaking toward Sanja in a tunnel of hate.

Sanja laughed at Artemis' oncoming attack. It was too focused on rage to do anything but clip by her, during which Sanja grabbed Artemis, flinging her helplessly into the pick-up a few feet from them. Artemis crashed into the truck in a flurry of shards that rained off the broken window above her.

Dean and Sam scrambled to their feet during all the chaos, trying to follow the speedy exchange between Artemis and Sanja. They were both lost up to the point where they saw the windows explode on Artemis' truck as someone crashed into it. They prayed it was Sanja, but when the dust cleared they saw that the bruised and bloody form of Artemis lied there, coughing up blood.

The minute Sam saw Artemis injured, he sprinted toward her. He didn't care whether of not she was a werewolf, or the fact that she'd infected him; he still felt for her and cared for her well being. When he was halfway to her however, Sam felt a force tackle him from behind, pinning his arms behind him, and placing something sharp on his throat.

Artemis laid there in pain, unable to move. Sanja had thrown her into the trunk hard enough to immobilize her. She could feel the breakages in her spine and other bones begin to mend, but the sheer amount of injuries was keeping her grounded at the moment. Sure she had a heightened sense of healing, but it could only do much in so little time. Sanja had done this on purpose, breaking as many bones a she could so that Artemis would take longer to heal.

Fighting the pain, Artemis attempted to glance up, trying to find Sanja despite her blurring vision. That was when she saw it, Sanja. She held Sam, with his arms pinned behind his back, her claws placed directly over his throat. Artemis could see the shock on Dean's face, the fear he held for his brother.

"W-why?" Artemis choked out, "Why a-are you doing th…this?" It pained her to talk, but she had to know. She had to know why Sanja was alive, why she was doing this.

Sanja merely laughed, "Why?" then a look of anger washed over her face, "For revenge of course…."

Dean's heart had nearly stopped. This…this _bitch_ was holding his brother hostage. Whatever the hell was going to happen, it sure as hell wouldn't be his brother dying, "What revenge!" Dean yelled, his anger rising, "You're the one that betrayed her!"

"Yes," Sanja spat, "But she's the one that tried to kill me," at this, Sanja pulled the collar of her shirt down, displaying several large circular scars; gunshot scars, "Lucky for me, I'm a bit more resilient than anybody thought…" It was Artemis' fault that everything had gone to hell, and Sanja was going to make sure she paid for it.

Sanja grinned, "And so I have been taking my revenge," she tapped her claws on Sam's throat, "After all, I am the one that infected her…"

Artemis caught her breath at those words. Sanja? She'd been the one to infect her? How? It wasn't possible…it just could be.

Sanja spotted the look of disbelief on Artemis' face and chuckled, "How the hell else do you think you ever woke up from that coma? I wanted you to suffer, and you lying there like sleeping beauty wasn't really fitting into that plan. I knew the virus could heal you, wake you up, so I took a needle with my blood and plop--" she motioned sticking a needle with her free hand, "--made sure as hell that you would suffer."

Everything, everything altogether was too much for Artemis to take. For the past couple of minutes she'd been fighting the darkness that had tried to creep into her consciousness, she'd been battling to stay to awake. Her body was still healing, and it eventually would, but the energy need for such an action was draining her. And with this new revelation, she felt the rest of that energy seep away. She felt the darkness within her mind begin creeping in closer, overtaking her mind. The anger, the guilt, the sadness; she gave them all up for the comfort and numbness that soon consumed her mind.

Sanja saw the way Artemis had begun to drift away, and knew her work here was done. She faded into the shadows before either of the brothers could react, and when they did they streaked toward Artemis' motionless form in a haste of worry.

And Artemis, with one last breath, faded away into the impending darkness of her unconscious.


	12. Vicious Instincts

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 11- Vicious Instincts**

It was nearly an hour later, and Artemis still hadn't regained consciousness. Sam sat next to her on the bed where they'd laid her, stroking her cheek. For a second he stopped, staring at his own hand. Or rather, staring at the claws that now adorned it. His mind still had yet to deal with that fact; being a werewolf.

It was still a shock to him, that Artemis had been one too, and in being so had infected him. But at the same time, part of him had known almost the whole time. Almost all the clues, despite her best efforts to hide them, were pretty obvious. Sam remembered noticing them easily, but for some reason his subconscious had chosen to ignore them. Despite all of his training, he'd failed to acknowledge the all the signs that had basically been slapping him in the face. And Sam knew why.

He loved her. He really did. Why? He wasn't sure; he just did. Despite all the lies, all the betrayal; he still loved her. And he didn't even really know why.

Standing up, Sam ambled over toward the hall. As he was walking by the mirror next to the doorway, he stopped to look at his reflection. The image staring back at him looked so different. For one thing, his eyes were still quite unsettling. The golden glow that had washed over his eyes from earlier still hadn't faded, and so it remained. His eyes, beside his claws, were the only signs of infection he'd shown so far. The only thing he knew to look forward to was the tail, and god knew when that would come up.

Pushing these thoughts about his reflection back, Sam finally pushed himself to walk downstairs. Dean sat there in the living room, polishing off one of several guns that lied on the table in front of him. When Dean saw Sam enter the room, he set the gun down in front of him, "Any change?" he asked.

Sam shook his head, "Nothing yet," was all he said. He plotted himself down on the couch opposite Dean, wringing his hands together. Dean noticed the tension Sam seemed to be wrestling with.

"We'll deal with everything later Sammy," he said soothingly, "You need to relax." He knew that despite him saying this, Sam was going to keep thinking about this no matter what he said. They'd both suffered a major blow mentally, and Dean knew that it had hit Sam the hardest.

A small reminder that Dean had set mentally went off, and he reached into his pocket. After pulling out a syringe, he lied it out on the table before him, sliding it over to Sam, "Take it."

Sam knew it was the serum, but he still didn't want to take it. He just…didn't. Probably because it would mean accepting the fact that he was infected, which part of him still to refused to acknowledge. It was just so much to take in at once, it was impossible to deal. Sam merely stared back at Dean, a blank expression evident in his golden eyes.

Dean could see the conflicting thoughts in Sam's eyes, the way his mind fought amongst itself. It pained him to see Sam like this. So…broken.

"You have to take it Sammy," Dean pushed the needle closer to Sam, "Before you get any worse." Who knew what might actually happen if Sam didn't take the serum. Dean wouldn't take that chance to find out.

Sam shook his head in denial, "I don't need it Dean," Sam mumbled, "Save it for yourself." Sam wouldn't take it, he just wouldn't. He didn't care what really happened to him, he just couldn't admit to himself the reality of the situation.

Dean knew Sam was being stubborn like usual, but this was just ridiculous. This was something that could affect Sam's well-being as well as his safety, and Dean wasn't going to take no for an answer, "There's plenty left for me," Dean said with a sense of force in his voice, "But you have to take it…now. Before anything else happens."

His brother wasn't giving him any choice, Sam knew it. He could tell from the look on Dean's face that this wasn't a voluntary request, it was a demand. With Dean's watchful gaze still on him, Sam picked up the syringe. It felt cold and foreign to his hand, feeding his mental rejection of it. Then, he made a choice. Whether or not his brother was going to force him, Sam wouldn't take it. He gave the needle one more glance before he flung it aimlessly at the wall where it shattered upon impact, the clear liquid inside running down the wall slowly.

Dean found himself standing the next second, his hands gripping Sam's shirt as he pulled him up, "What the hell do you think you're doing!" Dean had never seen his brother like this, so…reckless.

Sam just couldn't take it anymore. All of this pressure, all of this stress; it was just too much. He had to get out of there, "Get your hands off me!" Sam yelled, pushing Dean away with an incredible burst of strength.

Dean felt himself go soaring back, crashing through the wall behind him in a flurry of dust. The wooden wall crumbled away around Dean, but all Dean could do was stare at Sam in shock.

Whatever had come over him, Sam couldn't understand it. Sure him and his brother got into fights before, but he'd never actually thrown Dean through a wall. Whatever this thing inside him was doing to him, Sam couldn't take it. With one last glance at Dean, Sam sprinted out of the room without a second thought.

Dean couldn't believe what just happened. Sam had lost control, plain and simple. If he'd taken the serum, this probably wouldn't have happened. He need to go find Sam, to go find his brother and help him. Dusting off a few of the wooden boards, Dean stood up easily.

As he turned to leave, Dean heard a loud groan from upstairs; Artemis was waking up. If anybody knew how to help Sam, it was her. Even though she'd lied to them, she was the only one who probably knew what was going on.

Tearing up the stairs, Dean burst into the room to find Artemis sitting on the edge of her bed, gripping her head. The minute Dean entered the room, Artemis looked up at him.

A mixture of fear and guilt were present on her face the minute she recognized Dean, "Listen Dean…I--" she went to say but Dean cut her off. This was no time for chit chat.

"We've got a problem," Dean spat maliciously, "And you're the one that's gonna help me fix it."

Sam didn't know where he was running, but still he continued the action. It seemed to clear his mind, keep him sane in the face of the world that was crumbling around him. All at one point, he stopped.

---------------

What the hell was he doing? And why the hell was he running? Suddenly the last few minutes seemed like a blur to him, like he hadn't been the one in control. What the hell was going on?

Unexpectedly a wave of pain erupted in his stomach, blinding him. His feet swaying beneath him in a drunken manner, Sam crashed into the tree beside him. His hands grabbed uselessly at the weak branches beside him, but a sudden weakness seemed to have gripped his body.

Unable to keep his legs beneath him, Sam fell to the ground, writhing in pain. It felt as though his entire body was on fire, a fire that just seemed to get hotter and hotter. He could feel muscles bulging, straining against the shirt that suddenly seemed too tight. Sounds seemed to rush his ears at nearly a hundred times louder than usual. All of his senses seemed to be in overdrive, growing with the pain.

A resounding crack echoed through the surrounding woods like a gunshot, and Sam arched his back. His spine had just snapped, the bones reforming themselves. He felt something furry begin squirming near the back of his pants; the tail.

Then, all at once, it stopped; the pain was gone. Sam merely sat there, his ragged breaths cutting into the humid air of the twilight that surrounded him.

What the hell had just happened? Then he remembered the writhing object that had expanded past his spine just seconds before. His hands traveled to the back of his pants, fearing what he knew to be there.

He was getting worse.

---------------

Artemis led the way as they maneuvered through the darkened forest, the swollen moon the only object aiding to light their path. She could hear Dean stomping angrily behind her, a shotgun readily aimed at her back.

"You know," she broke the silence, "If you keep barging around like that then we're never going to find Sam. He'll hear you coming from a mile away." It was true. In his condition, Sam would flee from the very scent of his brother. This part of the infection was the hardest to deal with, the psychotic break. The longer Sam was infected without being treated with the serum, the deeper he'd sink into the madness.

Dean merely scowled in response, "Just shut the hell up," he nudged the shotgun into the small of her back, "And keep moving."

After a few more minutes of silence, Artemis stopped and turned to face Dean. If they were going to find Sam, then she needed a bit more freedom. She'd been able to track him so far, but she could tell that Sam was avoiding them. What they needed to do was bring Sam to them, which was going to take some leniency on Dean's part.

When Artemis stopped and turned to face him, Dean glared at her angrily, "Why the hell are you stopping?" He raised the shotgun higher, "I told you to move."

Before Dean could even blink, Artemis had snatched the shotgun from his grasp and bent the nozzle back. After tossing the ruined weapon aside, her gaze turned to a fearful Dean, "If we're gonna find Sam, I need going to need you to keep your foot out of my ass." Dean simply stared at her, his mouth half open, still in shock to the unexpected turn of tables, "Now are you going to give me some space or what?"

Gathering his composure, Dean shrugged, "I don't very much have a choice, do I?"

Artemis gave him a look of annoyance; she didn't need this. She understood how Dean felt; she'd lied to them about almost everything. But she needed help to do this, not a thorn in her side, "You do have a choice," she reached into the back of her pants and pulled out a small handgun, holding it out to Dean, "I need you to help me, the same way you need me to help you. I'm not your enemy you know."

He knew that she wasn't his enemy, but that still didn't absolve her of what she'd done. It was her fault that Sam was like this, out here alone and in danger. Dean wasn't sure how she'd done it, but he knew she'd been the one to infect Sam. She was the only werewolf that Dean knew Sam had had any contact with, so it just had to be her. There was no other explanation.

After a few seconds of weighing the options, Dean grabbed the gun from her, "I only have one question," Dean said. Artemis knew what it was even before it was spoken, "Were you the one to infect Sam?"

"Yes," the word cut through the tension like a knife, easing off the stress momentarily. After saying if, Artemis looked away from Dean, shifting her feet uncomfortably. She knew it had been her fault, and the guilt was already killing her, "I infected him."

Dean knew it was no consolidation to hear this, seeing as all it did was just solidify the strong beliefs he already had, but hearing it come from Artemis, as well as the guilt evident in her voice, seemed to soften his conviction of her. He could tell by her behavior that this hadn't been some backstabbing plot to get him and Sam killed, it had been a mistake.

One last thing was bugging Dean though, "When?" his expression has softened as he asked this. Noticing the change of atmosphere, Artemis looked up, "When did it happen? Better yet, how did it happen?"

Artemis knew Dean wouldn't like her answer, nor would Sam very much appreciate her telling Dean, but it had to be said. Dean deserved to know the details, no matter how private they might be.

"Yesterday," she mumbled slightly, "Last night." The memory was still a blur to her, but she held onto it was an ironclad certainty. She may not have remembered it detail by detail, but a certain part of her knew it to be true.

Dean was definitely amazed by her answer. Last night would have seemed the least likely time for it to happen, with them going to the bar and everything, but the question still remained; how?

"You still haven't told me how I happened," Dean said, "Sam doesn't have any bite marks and well, the only other way is…" suddenly the thought hit Dean, the answer, "…oh…"

A warmth spread over her face as she could feel herself blushing, ashamed of what had happen. She nodded slightly, confirming Dean's thoughts, "It was a mistake Dean," she whispered, "We got drunk and well…I'm sorry." It was true. If they hadn't been drunk, then it probably would have never happened. She would have never ruined Sam's life.

Suddenly, another question seemed to arise in Dean's head. It wasn't really a necessary one, but due to some evidence he'd seen earlier in connection with Artemis' confession, it nudged to be answered, "One other question," Dean looked at her suspiciously, "I know it's not really important, but where the hell did you guys…you know."

Artemis knew that Dean wouldn't exactly like her answer, but he severed the truth…however unpleasant his reaction would be, "Well…" she trailed off. She really didn't want to tell Dean this, "…let's just say that you might want to get the back seat of the Impala cleaned…" She cringed slightly as she said this, waiting for Dean's reaction.

It took him a few seconds to process what Artemis had said, but when it finally hit home Dean was left in shock, "You guys _did it_ in _my baby_!" he yelled, causing a few of the animals in the woods around them to scurry off in fear, "Oh Sam is so dead!"

With a new burst of energy, Dean charged through the trees without a second thought. Artemis followed Dean with a frightened expression, truly afraid of what Dean might do to Sam when they found him. She knew that Dean basically worshipped that car of his…and this wasn't exactly the best new that Artemis could have told him.

Remembering her plan, Artemis jogged forward a bit to catch up with the enraged Winchester, "Hey!" she called out to him, grabbing his shoulder and wheeling him around to face her. His face wore a mixture of sourness and anger, but Artemis didn't pay it any attention.

Reaching over her shoulder, Artemis grabbed a small bag that she'd been carrying, slinging it forward as she held it before Dean, "I have a plan to find Sam," she said, "But you're going to have to trust me."

Dean nodded resentfully, but gave his consent. Accepting his confirmation, Artemis unzipped the bag she held and pulled out a small plastic bag containing some kid of dark liquid. She held it out to Dean, "Hold this for me for a sec while I close the bag."

He grabbed it as she fiddled with her bag, examining it. When the contacts of the bag finally registered with his brain, he dropped the bag in disgust, "What the fuck!" he yelled, turning to Artemis, "Why the hell do you need a bag of blood?"

Shaking her head, Artemis sighed in frustration. Dean was being a real pain in the ass, "Werewolves are attracted to the smell," she said as she bent down to pick up the blood back, "At least the inexperienced ones who can't usually tell it's a trap are. And it just so happens that Sam falls into that category now."

Dean just stared at her in disbelief, "You mean Sam will actually come to us because of that stuff?" It was just hard for Dean to believe that Sam could even for one second be attracted to the smell of such a disgusting thing. It still hadn't registered with him that Sam was not in control of half of his actions anymore.

"All we need to do," she said, "Is spill some of this stuff on the ground, and Sam should show up after a few minutes or so. To him it'll smell like some kind of wounded prey and, well, that'll be one of the only things on his mind right now. His body's changing rapidly, and his mentality is clashing with the new instincts that come along with these changes. He'll probably be extremely vicious and violent because of that, so be careful Dean."

Dean simply nodded, "Let's just get this thing done."


	13. That's Not Your Brother

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
****By: Final Spirit**

**Chapter 12- That's Not Your Brother**

Blood; Sam could smell it in the wind. He wasn't sure how he recognized it, he just did. And better yet, he wanted it. The minute the scent hit his nose, he was immediately drawn to it, like he needed it.

An echoing growl resounded from the pit of his stomach, making the promise of prey seem even more appetizing. He needed to feed, plain and simple.

Above all, he wanted to.

* * *

Both Dean and Artemis lied in wait, suspiciously eying the forests around them. They'd been waiting for nearly an hour in the shadows, expectant to Sam's approach.

Worrying thoughts ran through Dean's mind the entire time, feeding the panic that had slowly began descending upon him. What if they couldn't find Sam? What if they were too late and Sam had already killed someone? A million variations of 'what if?' passed through his mind, distracting him from the task at hand.

Slapping himself mentally, Dean attempted to clear his mind. He had to stay focused, for Sammy's sake. He had to pay attention, so he could save his younger brother. He just had to. If anything happened to Sam, Dean would never forgive himself. He'd promised himself that he would protect Sam's life with his own, and so far he'd been falling short on that promise.

Dean had stood idly by and watched as his brother became infected, watched as he slowly descended into bestiality and insanity. Altogether, it was becoming too much for the older Winchester to take. He needed to focus…so he could save Sam.

Glancing over at Dean, Artemis could see the worry written on his face, and was rewarded with a pang of guilt. None of this would be happening if it wasn't for her. If she'd been more careful and kept her distance from Sam, he wouldn't be like this. He would be a normal everyday hunter, a man who she deeply admired. Instead, she'd turned him into this beast.

Suddenly the snapping of a twig in the distance caught her ear. Glancing over at the source, Artemis eyed the darkness close, watching for any signs. Concentrating, she felt a tingling sensation in her eyes. She needed an advantage right now, so she focused on changing her eyes just enough to gain a higher degree of night vision. As the darkness around her grew clearer and a silhouette formed before her eyes, she knew her plan had worked.

Glancing over at Dean, Artemis tried to get his attention without revealing their presence to Sam. But Dean was too deep in thought to notice her actions, and went oblivious to her warnings. Carefully fidgeting around, Artemis looked for some way to get Dean's attention. Her fingers enclosed around a small rock beneath her palm, and then slowly, lifting her arm up, she took aim and threw it.

Dean felt the small object collide with his head painfully, and looked over to where it had been thrown from. He could see Artemis glaring at him contemptuously, her eyes glowing gold, and pointing over into the darkness. From her hand gestures, Dean knew what she was pointing at. Sam.

After he few continuous hand signals from both sides, Dean and Artemis had everything planned. They would wait for Sam to get closer, and then spring the trap. Dean was waiting in the bushes with a small rifle loaded with serum-filled syringes, so that they could inject Sam forcefully if they had to. Artemis would take point and distract Sam, and if necessary fight him. Dean was still slightly uncomfortable with that notion, but it was their only hope. He knew that he would have no chance right now in any kind of fight with Sam, but since Artemis was more experienced with her abilities, she could probably fend Sam off long enough for Dean to take his shot.

The snapping of another twig reached Artemis' ears, and she knew Sam was close. By now she had already picked up his scent, confirming that it was Sam that was creeping around in the darkness. Sam was taking his time, and doing this slowly. He was much more cautious than Artemis expected him to be. Normally, most people would be crazed by this point of the infection and show hardly any humanoid mental capacity. But Sam seemed to be another story. Maybe it was because of his training as a hunter, being compliant with the casual predator role, that he was so largely advanced at this point, but his degree of control was still mind baffling to Artemis. But whatever the case, Sam was going down.

From her perch up in the trees, Artemis was finally able to pinpoint Sam's position once again. Giving Dean a nod of her head, she launched herself into action.

* * *

Sam felt something hard collide with his back, forcing him down onto the wet earth. A scent filled his mind, and his instincts screamed recognition; Artemis. He could feel her pushing him deeper onto the ground, trying to pin him down indefinitely.

With a burst of strength, he bucked Artemis off, sending her careening into a tree, feeling something small go flying narrowly past his ear. He looked back, only to find his brother aiming a small rifle at him. Growling, Sam jumped on his brother before he could react, and bit down on his shoulder, feeling the delicious warmth flow into his mouth.

All at once, Sam felt his conscience return, dispelling disgust. The past few minutes had been a total blackout, and he'd awaken to find himself clamped on his brother's shoulder. What the hell was he doing? He pulled away from Dean, spitting the blood out of his mouth.

What the hell was happening to him?

* * *

Dean screamed in pain the minute he felt Sam's teeth pierce his skin. How could his brother do that to him? How could he attack his own brother? Suddenly, he felt Sam's demeanor change. At this, Sam seemed to draw away from him, horrified. Dean looked into his brother's eyes, seeing the remorse that was present there.

"Sammy?" Dean whispered, reaching out to his brother. He could see Sam in those eyes he stared into, actually see him. Like the man before him was his brother, and not just some wild monster. They both stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, the wind blowing fearsome gusts around them.

Sam was the first to break the silence, his voice cracked with fear, "Dean…" Sam whispered, "What's happening to me?" The last few hours seemed like a giant blank to him, a gap that spanned the corners of his consciousness. What had happened? What had he done? Everything was a blur…

Looking into his brother's eyes with compassion, Dean grinned, "Everything's fine Sammy," he shifted uncomfortably as he felt the wound in his shoulder start to close up, "You're going to be okay. I just need you to calm down…come back with me…"

A confused stare was all that met Dean's gaze, causing his heart to sink. Was Sammy still in there? Was the person before him still his brother?

Sam seemed to collapse onto his knees, staring at Dean, "I'm scared Dean…" Sam whimpered quietly. Sam was scared, he really was. He thought he'd be able to deal with it, but with everything that had happened, he really wasn't sure anymore. Who knows what he'd already done? Had he lost control like his brother had, and killed someone for it? Was that all he was…a monster?

Tears formed in Dean's eyes, his outer resolve dissolving. He didn't want Sam to see him like this, but he couldn't help it. His brother, who he'd sworn to protect, simply kneeled before him, broken. And he'd been the one to fail him.

Unexpectedly a pain erupted in Sam's head, blinding his senses. Dean watched as Sam cradled his head in his hands, groaning in pain.

"Sammy?" Dean questioned, his voice laced with worry, "Sam what's happening?" He edged himself closer to his brother cautiously. Who knew what Sam might do?

It felt like a hundred knives were being stabbed through Sam's mind. They tore holes in his consciousness, allowing something within him to begin seeping out. He felt some kind of primal force begin washing over his mind, attempted to erase all shreds of his humanity. With the impending darkness washing over his mind, Sam felt himself fade away in his mind, overtaken.

After a few seconds, Dean saw his younger brother's form stop shaking, then looking up to Dean's gaze. A cold wave of fear washed over Dean as he stared into those empty golden eyes, ones that held no sign of his brother. All of the compassion, fear, and emotion that had been in those eyes only moments before had sunk away, replaced by the apathetic stare that was locked with his own.

The thing before him growled, cocking its head to the side. Could this thing truly be Dean's brother? Could it truly be Sammy in there? All of a sudden it launched itself at Dean, causing Dean to raise up his arms in fear. He waited for the impact of Sam's form, but after a few silent seconds he felt none. That's when he dropped his arms and looked up.

Artemis sat pinned on top of a struggling Sam, partially changed. Her hair had grown thick and shaggy, her teeth feral. Her eyes shined gold more prominently than ever, the whites of her eyes now black. Dean could only stare in fear at what lied before him.

Struggling against Sam, Artemis held her own. It was only because she was partially changed that she was able to hold Sam off, who would normally be able to wipe the floor with her. It was a fact that female werewolves were extremely weaker than male, although females had a greater sense of speed and agility. Thankfully, by transforming enough to gain a bit of muscle, she'd out strengthened Sam in his human form.

But the problem was being stronger than Sam, it was getting that serum into him. Slamming Sam deeper into the ground, Artemis glanced over to Dean, "Take the shot!" she yelled, her voice deep and coarse, "Now!"

Artemis' calls were enough to snap Dean out of his fear, causing him to scramble over to the rifle. Cocking it back, he saw that he had only two shots left in the chamber. He would sure as hell make them count.

The minute he aimed the rifle at the two struggling forms before him, Sam snapped his head in Dean's direction. Dean froze momentarily, lowering his weapon, locked in that gold apathetic glare…

Artemis saw Dean flinch for a second, and let out a large growl in response; she didn't need this! She pushed Sam against the damp earth once again, trying to get Sam to stop distracting Dean and turn his attention back to her. It didn't work. Sam just went ahead, staring into his brothers eyes. Damn this thing was smart.

Dean stared into Sam's eyes for a few more seconds before reality seemed to rush back. What the hell was he doing? No matter how this thing before him looked, this wasn't his brother. This wasn't Sam. And if Dean wanted Sam back, he had to shoot this damn thing. Dean raised the rifle, a sense of determination shining in his eyes.

He was ready to take the shot.

Just as Dean was pulling the trigger, he felt the rifle slam up into his face, causing it to discharge uselessly into the sky above them. Despite the pain that flowed freely from his face, dripping crimson drops all around him, Dean looked back in confusion.

Sam was still staring at him abstractly, a blank look in his eyes. That's when it hit Dean; Sam's telekinesis. That _thing_ could use Sam's telekinesis. Now they were in big trouble.

Artemis stared blankly at Dean as she saw the rifle go flying out of his hands and straight into his face, all by itself. Nothing had touched it, but yet it happened. Then she remembered what Sam told her, about his abilities. If this thing could use his abilities even when he couldn't, then the shit had officially hit the fan. She needed to end this. This thing couldn't keep its attention on Dean if they wanted to succeed. Artemis had to distract it, keep it trained on her long enough for Dean to shoot it. But it seemed no matter how many times she tried, she couldn't get its attention.

Dean started to scramble up again, and reach for the rifle, when he feet were pulled out from under him. Yet nothing had pulled them. Dean looked up at Sam again, and read the look on that thing's face. It was keeping him down.

Artemis shoved Sam down again, trying to get this thing's attention, "Get the fucking rifle already!" she yelled.

"I can't!" Dean yelled, falling flat on his face again as his feet were swept under him yet again, "He won't let me!"

That was it. There was only one other thing that Artemis hadn't tried to get this thing's attention. It wasn't behaving like Sam, but this was still Sam. Meaning that no matter how deep down Sam was hidden in there, that her next action would surely strike that chord.

"Get it!" Artemis yelled, "Now!" And with that, she plunged herself forward, kissing Sam. His form seemed to relax beneath her at this and grow still.

Suddenly a shot rang out, and she felt Sam's form go limp underneath her. She rolled off him, breathing deeply, "Took you long enough," she said in a throaty voice. The wolfish features melted back into her form, and she appeared wholly human once more.

"Well excuse me for being occupied," Dean growled as he brushed the dirt off himself. He then looked over at Artemis, raising his eyebrows, "Nice distraction by the way."

Artemis blushed at this and finished dusting herself off as well, avoiding Dean's gaze, "Well, we were out of options…"

A hard silence followed, and neither of them had the courage to break it. There was just so much on their minds, about what to do with everything. How could they fix this?

Despite the warning bells that seemed to surge in her mind, Artemis was the first to speak, "We should get Sam back to the house," she said quietly, "He'll be out for a while." They needed to do something, anything, to distract them from the void their minds seemed to emit. She knew, the minutes she stopped, the guilt would begin to eat her away. As long as she kept moving, she could take her focus off it. If not, it was always there.

Dean nodded his head, staring into space, "Yeah." His mind was out of focus, and he couldn't seem to get it back together. Everything that had happened was weighing heavily upon him, and his conscience refused to show him any leniency.

After a few moments they both glanced at each other, and formed the peace they needed to continue. The pain was too much to do with alone, but if they relied on each other for support, then they'd be able to deal. As long as they stuck together, they could make it.

Together, they lifted Sam, and carried him back to the house.


	14. Forgiveness

**-Solstice of the Moon-  
_By: Final Spirit_**

Chapter 13- Forgiveness

Incoherent memories passed before Sam's eyes. He knew he was dreaming, but yet the dreams were filled with memories he couldn't recall.

Running through the forest…biting his brother…Artemis kissing him…

Continuous blurs filled his mind, and brought light to the gaps in his memories. Sam couldn't believe that he'd lost control, that he'd let it take over him that much. He knew the others wouldn't blame him, they'd say that it was too powerful to fight, but that didn't hide the truth.

He'd let it control him.

* * *

Artemis sat beside Sam, who lay on her bed unconscious, tossing and turning. She wrung her hand together stressfully, trying to work out the worry that gripped her mind. How was she going to explain everything to Sam? Tell him that she'd lied to him? Been the one to infect him? How could she tell him all of that, and still expect him to look at her the same?

"I…" she trailed off in a choked voice, "I'm….I'm so sorry Sam…" He was still unconscious, but Artemis knew that she would never be able to say that to him if he was awake. The guilt was already killing her, and his reaction would only make it worse.

She fought the tears that she already felt were coming forward, refusing to let the grief grip her. Crying wasn't going to solve anything. Feeling guilty wasn't going to solve anything either. If she wanted to fix this, which she did, she was going to have to stop blaming herself.

With a new sense of determination shining in her eyes, she looked down at Sam, "I'm gonna fix this Sam," she whispered strongly, "I don't care what I have to do, but I'm gonna fix this."

Then, without another word, she stood up and left the room.

* * *

Dean had just finished getting himself cleaned up from their little escapade and was walking upstairs when Artemis came barging out of the room, nearly knocking him down the stairs. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked with a hint of attitude.

Artemis glared back at him with a sense of strength that Dean had never seen, nor expected to see, in her. "To fix this," she stated strongly, "I can't just sit around here and do nothing."

They both glared at each other for a moment in silence, before Dean finally summed up the courage to break the quiet, "You're not going out alone," he ordered, "We're going to wait for Sam to wake up, and then we'll come up with a plan." Not only was Dean not going to let Artemis out of his sight, but tonight was the first night of the full moon. And sunset, after everything that had happened, was only a few hours off.

"I can't wait that long Dean," she replied strongly. "And I don't care about any of the risks. I'm going to go out there, and I'm going to fix this. For you, for me…and for Sam."

Before Dean could reply, they heard a soft and long groan emanate down the stairs from Artemis's bedroom downstairs. Both Dean and Artemis looked up the stairs with a speechless stare, unsure of what to do or say. What could they say to Sam now, after everything? Artemis was weighed down with guilt of causing Sam's pain, and Dean couldn't face the fact that he hadn't protected Sammy from it in the first place.

* * *

As Sam groggily sat up in Artemis's bedroom, he rubbed his head gingerly. His body felt like it'd been body slammed by a semi or something, and his head felt like the damn semi had run it over. But despite the pain, that didn't change the fact that he remembered everything.

The past couple of hours, everything, he remembered it all. The infection controlling him…and everything that had followed thereafter; he remembered it. What hurt most though was the feeling of betrayal…of who had caused him this pain. Even though it hadn't ever been said outright, he knew that Artemis had been responsible. And it really didn't hurt him much to know what she was…what she'd done to him, what hurt him most was the fact that she'd lied to him about it all. She'd never told him anything about it…despite all of the truth about him he'd relied to her.

Standing up shakily, Sam forced himself to his feet. He could sense that Dean and Artemis were downstairs, despite the eerie and thick shroud of silence that hung over the house. He could feel a strong sense of discouragement, in terms of facing Artemis, but he knew he had to. He had to confront her, and all of the tension and problems that hung between them.

With slow and heavy steps, Sam made his way out of the room and down the stairs. As he rounded the corner, he came face to face to with her. The first thing he saw was the guilt in her eyes; the total, all consuming remorse that seemed to fill her entire being. Almost immediately, Sam felt sorry for blaming her. He could tell, from that single stare, that she hadn't meant for anything to turn out this way.

Sam was the first to break the oppressing silence. "Dean," he said, with a solemn expression, "I need to talk with her….alone." He knew Dean was going to protest to this, but Sam gave him glare that expressed the finality of his statement; he was going to do this, whether Dean wanted him to or now.

"Fine," Dean replied grudgingly. He didn't really feel comfortable leaving Sam alone with Artemis, but he could tell from the look on Sam's face that his decision to talk to her wasn't something he was going to budge on. So, without another word, he left the room and went outside.

Shuffling her feet, Artemis avoided Sam's gaze. "Let's talk in here," she said, turning around and heading for the living room. She knew that Sam and her had to talk about everything, despite the burning fear she held inside for such a conversation. Sitting down on one of the couches, she let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said, still not looking up to face Sam. "I'm…so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

She knew that those were empty words; meaningless. What could mere words do to comfort all of the pain and torment she'd caused him? Words were like air; thin comfort that wasted away in seconds, holding no tangible value.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sam replied quietly, sitting down on the couch opposite her. "I mean…I don't care about what you are…but why didn't you tell me?"

Artemis looked up in surprise at Sam's words, her eyes shining as they lied on the verge of tears. Did he really mean that? He didn't care what she was? Looking back down, Artemis spoke softly. "I didn't want you to look at me differently…like I was some kind of freak. To be frank, _I_ kind of looked at _myself_ that way…like I _was_ a freak. I just…I haven't even learned to deal with it myself. How was I supposed to deal with you dealing with it too?"

Sam looked at her with soft eyes. He could see all of the pain that she was going through, all of the torture. It was hurting her…it had been from the beginning. Looking back onto his first memories with her, Sam now understood the often blank stares…the depressed and silent air she seemed to hold around herself. Even the quiet tears he'd once seen her shedding in secret now made sense. This wasn't some evil plot she'd had from the beginning, everything she'd been portraying had been true.

Without even another word, Sam got up and sat next to her, putting his arms around her. Almost immediately, Artemis relaxed into his arms, and sobs chocked free. All of her pain, all of her suffering, she let out. Nothing seemed to bother her anymore, when she was in Sam's arms. "I-I'm so s-sorry….." she sobbed free, holding Sam tightly. "I'm s-so sorry f-for everyt-thing…"

Sam just held her tight, letting her let go of all of the pain she held in. Right now, despite everything she'd done wrong, she need comfort, support. She needed someone who cared for her, who loved her, to be there for her in a world where she was alone. And Sam was glad to be that for her, no matter what. With a loving smile on his face, he held her close, and said the only words that needed to be said.

"I forgive you."


End file.
